Services growth slowed again in October, hurt by lagging tourism and leisure activity, but firms across the sector were more optimistic than a month earlier amid a marked rebound for exporters, a survey showed today.
The latest AIB S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the sector slipped to 53.2 last month from 54.1 in September.
But it remained above the 50 mark separating growth from contraction and much stronger than the levels seen in all major trading partners.
While the reading marked a 20-month low and a sharp decline from 63.4 in March, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine slowed a period of rapid expansion, the survey's authors said the main components of the survey were quite encouraging.
The services sector covers areas as diverse as communication, financial and business services, IT and the tourism trade.
The outlook for business activity rebounded from September's near two-year low to the highest level since July, while new export business jumped to 57.2 from 52.1, reflecting stronger growth in financial services, technology and telecoms.
The rate of input price inflation eased to a nine-month low, although it remained among the highest on record, with prices charged by service providers also easing slightly at historically high levels.
The Department of Finance has said it expects modified domestic demand, its preferred economic growth measure, to grow by 7.7% this year and 1.2% next year.
