Indeed, in April, the Services PMI index grew to an 8-month high. Additionally, the job market figures show some improvement: compared to the previous year, employment is up, unemployment and the claimant count are down, and the rate of inactivity is at its lowest since 1991. Also, in an effort to stimulate the economy, Chancellor Osborne announced several tax reductions including a corporation tax cut to 20 percent in his 2013 Budget speech. However, on the negative side, credit for companies remains scarce and businesses are putting off non-essential spending waiting for the economy to improve further. Also, consumer confidence remains gloomy. In fact, in April, retail sales contracted 1.3 percent mom. To make things even worst, both Moody's and Fitch downgraded United Kingdom from its AAA credit rating, as government spending cuts and the Bank of England's quantitative easing policy failed to stimulate economic growth.