Percentage Point Increase & Decrease (Signed Gaps)

Language and direction

Readers hear “increase” as good news only when the metric is framed that way. For inflation, an increase is often bad news. Points stay neutral: they only describe movement.

Pair neutral points with your editorial judgment in surrounding sentences.

Signed gaps

Keep B minus A when your story reads “from A to B.” If you describe the same move as “down to B from A,” still compute B minus A and let the sign carry the direction.

Avoid rewriting the sign to match optimistic verbs.

Step-by-step guide

1. State both percents with dates or versions.
2. Compute the signed gap.
3. Choose verbs that acknowledge the sign.
4. Optional: add percent change in a second sentence with baseline text.

For the baseline sentence, borrow language from the percentage points versus percentage change guide.

Worked example

Conversion falls from 3.4% to 3.1%. The gap is -0.3 percentage points. If you compare two regions, compute each gap separately, then compare magnitudes as the difference between two percentages article recommends.

When you script leadership talking points, cross-check verbs against the percentage point examples bank so tone stays consistent.