Business activity in Dublin slowed sharply in the third quarter of this year, leaving it at its weakest level since the second quarter of 2021 when Covid restrictions were still in force.
The latest PMI survey from S&P Global shows the headline rate remained narrowly within expansionary territory at 50.4 as inflation dampened demand.
S&P Global said that both the Manufacturing (48.1) and Construction (43.3) sectors posted reductions in activity while the more resilient Services sector remained within expansionary territory with a reading of 52.5.
Today's PMI showed that new orders continued to rise in Dublin, extending the current sequence of growth to six quarters, but the rate of expansion declined.
New orders across the Rest of Ireland fell marginally into contractionary territory.
The report's authors said these new order trends are "concerning" as cost of living pressures are expected to be exacerbated over the winter months.
Today's PMI also showed that labour market trends remained strong in the three months from July to September, adding that Dublin firms have now recorded increases in staffing levels on a quarterly basis continuously since the first quarter of 2021.
Employment also increased across the Rest of Ireland, but at a softer pace than that seen in the city, it added.
Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said that the Dublin private sector is not alone in seeing a slowdown during the third quarter of 2022 as global demand conditions suffer amid widespread cost of living pressures.
"Output growth slowed to near-stagnation, with manufacturing and construction actually seeing declines," Mr Harker said.
"The main positive over the quarter was a further marked expansion in employment as local firms continued to build workforces in the hope that the slowdown doesn't evolve into a more pronounced downturn," he added.
