Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
Growth in the Irish service sector slowed last month, though still remained robust, the results of a private sector survey showed on Tuesday, while improved factory activity stepped up to support the overall economy.
The AIB services purchasing managers’ index fell to 55.0 points in August from 56.7 in July. This moved the score closer to the neutral reading of 50 points and represented the slowest growth for the sector since January, index compilers S&P Global said, but it still represented exactly two-and-a-half years of consecutive monthly improvements in Ireland’s service economy.
More positively, the composite PMI, a combination of the services and manufacturing sectors in Ireland, rose to 52.6 points in August from 50.0 in July. This is thanks to the manufacturing score, reported on Friday last week, swinging to a growth reading of 50.8 points from a contraction score of 47.0.
AIB Chief Economist Oliver Mangan said the continued strength of the Irish service sector compares favourably with other advanced economies, particularly the UK and eurozone.
‘The continued robust performance by the Irish services sector reflects ongoing healthy demand conditions,’ he said. ‘This was evidenced by another strong increase in new business volumes at Irish services firms from both domestic and export customers, though their rate of growth has slowed in recent months.’
The services PMI is compiled by S&P Global from the responses to questionnaires sent to 400 service sector companies in Ireland, with the results collected in the second half of each month.
Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.