A worse-than-expected result from the CBI's latest quarterly survey shows business in decline across the service sector over the past three months.
The business and professional service sector fell far short of predictions of strong volume growth, reporting its biggest fall in profitability since November 2011, as businesses cut prices and employment costs rose.
Consumer services, such as hotels, bars, restaurants and the travel and leisure industries, slowed sharper than expected, as rising prices were outpaced by growth in employee costs.
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