Hotels and restaurants buck downward trend for service sector

Hotels and restaurants have bucked a nationwide trend that saw the UK service sector as a whole take its biggest fall in output for 15 months in April.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed that output in the UK service sector was down by 1.2% for the month, following a 0.8% rise in March. The service sector accounts for three-quarters of the UK economy.

However the subsector represented by hotels and restaurants was up 0.9% over the same period.

The figures suggested that what was good for some pubs, restaurants and hotels - an extra public holiday and the Royal Wedding - was bad for other parts of the sector. Retail was down 2.5%, with transport, storage and communication down 0.7%.

April's decline in service sector output followed a 0.8% rise in March.

Economy could lead to 'prolonged consolidation' among catering suppliers >>

By Neil Gerrard

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