The U.K. economy barely grew in the third quarter of the year and is "near stagnation", according to the company behind a series of economic surveys.
The Markit/Cips purchasing managers' index (PMI) for services found growth in the sector slowed during September.
The PMI reading for services fell to 52.2 from 53.7 in August. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Earlier this week, similar surveys for manufacturing and construction indicated these sectors contracted.
The service sector survey also found that staffing levels had dropped for the first time in 10 months, although there was some good news with new orders seeing the biggest rise since May.
The British economy has contracted for three quarters in a row, beginning in the final quarter of last year.
The Bank of England will announce on Thursday the outcome of the latest meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee.
The Bank is not expected to announce any change to interest rates, or to its programme of quantitative easing, which is currently being expanded to £375 billion after a further £50 billion was added in July.
However, many analysts expect the Bank to take further action if the economy remains weak.
