The country's manufacturing sector grew at its fastest rate in over a year in June, a new survey shows today.
The NCB Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 53.1 in June from 51.2, accelerating its rise above the 50 line that separates growth from contraction.
The employment sub index grew for the fourth month in a row to 55.9 in June, the highest level since December 1999. NCB said that the job creation was mainly linked to rising production.
The index revealed solid increases in both new orders and production last month.
Overall new business rose at the fastest pace in 14 months, while new export orders also expanded. As new orders increased, companies raise their production accordingly.
June also saw the first reduction in input costs for two and a half years and came as a result of lower commodity prices. Companies left their output prices unchanged in June as strong competition prevented any rises. Before June, output prices had fallen for ten months in a row, NCB noted.
The index also showed that input buying increased for the fourth successive month and at a quicker pace as firms raised purchasing in line with higher production.
NCB's chief economist Brian Devine said the latest PMI numbers were ''healthy, which bodes well for the Irish economy''.
