-0.2 on previous index reading
The Business Pulse came in at 92.9 in July 2021. This was 0.2 lower than last month’s reading but 29.5 higher than a year ago. The sectoral picture was mixed this month, with the Industry Pulse ticking up, the Services Pulse more or less flat and the Retail and Construction Pulses dipping a little. Each of the four indices remained above its pre-pandemic level though. On the pay side, the July survey finds that 44% of firms are planning on increasing basic wages in the next 12 months – up from 29% in April and driven in part by staffing shortfall worries as the recovery takes hold – while on the growth front, three in five have ambitions to expand their business in the next 1 to 3 years.
