The seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index signalled continued significant expansion of the Irish services economy in June, according to NCB Stockbrokers. Their Purchasing Managers' Services Index posted a level of 53.8 in June.
Solid overall growth was again driven by expansion of new business during the month, although in both cases the rates of growth continued to slow.
Eunan King, NCB's Senior Economist, said that the World Cup had a 'restraining effect' on activity. 'Business confidence still holds the high level attained in January, suggesting that a return to faster growth is expected,' he said. 'Overall the sector appears to be in reasonable shape,' Mr King concluded.
NCB said that employment continued to show moderate growth, although there were some reports of tightness in the labour market and rising wage costs.
The NCB Purchasing Managers' Services index covers all private sector services in Ireland, excluding retail and wholesale. The data are derived from questionnaires sent to a panel of around 600 Irish private services companies that have agreed to supply regular information on trends in their activity levels.
