Growth in the country's service sector picked up in January, according to the latest AIB Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI).
The business activity index rose for the second month running, climbing to 54.1 from 52.7 in December and 50.8 in November.By comparison, the flash Services PMIs for the UK and US remained well into contraction territory in January at 48.0 and 46.6, respectively, with the index for the euro zone standing at a subdued 50.7.
"This resulted in a significant increase in backlogs of outstanding business, with signs of growing capacity constraints," he said. Meanwhile, firms' confidence about the outlook for the next 12 months rose to its highest level since last February. "It registered a very low reading of 40.1 for business activity. By contrast, the other three sectors covered in the survey expanded strongly in the month," he explained.
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