By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The U.K. economy appears to have shrunk again in November, as a stabilization in services failed to completely offset a slump in manufacturing.
The composite purchasing managers index published by S&P Global rose slightly to 49.0 from 48.2 in October, but remained below the 50 level that typically separates growth from contraction for a fifth straight month. The services PMI, which covers a larger part of economic activity, recovered to 50.0 from 48.8 in October, but the manufacturing PMI slumped to 44.7 - its lowest since June 2020 - from 46.5.
S&P noted a "solid and accelerated" drop in manufacturing employment as new export orders fell for the sixth month in a row. Employment in services stagnated.