Business activity growth in the Irish services sector grew in May to post its 12th consecutive month of expansion.
NCB's Purchasing Managers Services Index moved up to 59.2 in May from a level of 58.7 in April and 55.8 in March. A number above 50 implies expansion.
'The services sector continued to grow rapidly in May with business activity and new business accelerating as well as backlogs of work,' commented Eunan King, Senior Economist at NCB Stockbrokers.
'Employment continued to grow, though at a marginally slower rate than in April,' he added.
However, he warned that the pace of input price inflation accelerated again and prices charged declined for the 14th month in a row. High oil and material prices, along with rising wage bills, were behind the increases.
The index also said that sentiment for activity levels one year from now remained positive and widespread in May. Although the degree of optimism eased, the overall belief among companies was that growth will be achieved over the course of the next 12 months.
