Services industry buoyed by higher turnover in Q4

Business receipts grew by 5.7%.

Business receipts of the services industries, excluding wholesale & retail trade and accommodation & food services, grew by 5.7% in fourth quarter 2014 over the previous quarter.

Data from the Department of Statistics showed that all services industries fared well during the quarter, except for education services which recorded a decline of 1.7% in turnover.

Recreation & personal services reported the highest growth of 11% in business receipts, followed by financial & insurance services and business services excluding real estate, rental & leasing where both industries grew 9.1%.

Similarly, higher business receipts were also reported by transport & storage services (4.9%), real estate, rental & leasing services (1.8%), health & social services (1.2%) and information & communications services (1.2%).