Ungated Post | 16 Nov 2015

The use of business services by UK industries and the impact on economic performance

This study analyses the use of certain business-to-business and business-to-government services in the UK, by industrial sector of the client. The activities covered, known as ‘business services’ for the purposes of the report, include telecommunications and IT-related services, facilities management, business process outsourcing, and construction and engineering-related services.

There are two key conclusions. First, the study finds evidence of a positive correlation between the importance of these services to business users across the UK’s various industrial sectors, and productivity growth across those sectors. The five sectors for which the use of business services was most important, in both 1995 and 2013, all feature amongst the six sectors (out of 12) that achieved above-average productivity growth between those two years.

Secondly, above-average productivity growth amongst intensive users of these services is associated with strong growth in sector GDP, rather than being associated with net job losses. Indeed for four of the five most intensive users of business services, GDP growth was fast enough over the 1995-2013 period to allow above-average productivity growth to be accompanied by above-average employment growth. And the number of jobs was unchanged in the fifth of these sectors, despite the strong productivity performance seen there too.

Read the full report.

Oxford Economics’ team is expert at applying advanced economic tools that provide valuable insights into today’s most pressing business, financial, and policy issues.

To find out more about our capabilities, contact:

Americas
Diantha Redd
+1 (646) 503 3052
Email

Asia Pacific
Peter Suomi
+65 6850 0110
Email

EMEA
Aoife Pearson
+44 (0)203 910 8054
Email

Related Services

Post

The German Music Industry: Investments and Payments to Artists

Our study "The German Music Industry: Investments and Payments to Artists", on behalf of the German Music Industry Association (BVMI), examines whether and how artists have benefited from the increased revenues of German music labels in recent years.

Find Out More

Post

Thriving beyond boundaries: Human performance in a boundaryless world

In collaboration with Deloitte, Oxford Economics surveyed 1,000 global executives and board leaders in order to understand their perspectives on emerging human capital issues.

Find Out More

Post

Unlocking opportunities for small and disadvantaged businesses

On behalf of Amazon, Oxford Economics has assessed the impact of a scenario in which federal agencies can claim credit for purchases made with small and disadvantaged businesses across all online marketplaces.

Find Out More