Growth in the Irish service sector picked up sharply in August, according to the latest NCB Purchasing Managers' Service Index.
The index rose to 53.5 from 51.9 in July, its third successive month above the key 50 mark which separates growth from contraction. The sector had contracted in April and May.
NCB chief economist Dermot O'Brien said the rebound in the sector was now 'beyond doubt', with the index at its highest level since November 2002.
'Taken together with the improvement in manufacturing signalled earlier this week by the purchasing managers' survey for that sector, the economic outlook has brightened considerably,' he added.
The survey showed that new business levels rose for the third month in a row, but employment levels fell for the 14th successive month.
Average costs continued to rise, but the survey showed that the rate of inflation was the lowest in the survey's 40-month history. Companies also reduced their prices for the fifth consecutive month.
