+1.3 on previous index reading
The Business Pulse stood at 93.1 in October 2018, up 1.3 on September’s reading. The Services Pulse led the way this month (an improvement in medium/larger firms’ order books helped) and the Industry Pulse was also a little higher. The Construction and Retail Pulses were down on the month however, with a large number of retailers and builders indicating that uncertainty is currently limiting their activity. The October survey finds that growth ambitions remain positive across the board though, with almost two thirds of firms looking to expand their business in the next 1 to 3 years. It also shows that 44% are planning on increasing employees’ basic pay over the coming 12 months, by 3.8% on average.
