06.02.202506:42:00UTC+00Irish Services Growth Slowest In 9 Months

In January, Ireland's services sector experienced its most sluggish growth in nine months, attributed to a deceleration in activity and new orders, as reported by S&P Global on Thursday.

The AIB Ireland Services Purchasing Managers' Index decreased to 53.4 in January from 57.1 in December; however, any figure above 50 still signifies expansion.

Among the four sub-sectors, transport, tourism, and leisure emerged as the brightest spots with the swiftest growth. In contrast, growth within financial services significantly slowed, outpacing that witnessed in business services and technology, media, and telecoms.

New orders increased at their most tepid pace in four months, with this being most apparent in transport, tourism & leisure, financial services, and technology, media, and telecoms. Similarly, foreign demand also rose at a diminished rate in January.

The survey indicated a slight rise in outstanding work, while employment levels remained mostly stable, aside from reductions in financial services jobs.

On the pricing side, both input and output price inflation accelerated to an eight-month high in January, predominantly fueled by wage increases at both ends.

On an optimistic note, the 12-month business activity outlook reached an 11-month high, buoyed by positive sales projections due to anticipated market recovery, latent demand, digital investment, tourism uptick, new product introductions, and growth within UK business.

The composite output index was recorded at 52.3 in January, edging up from 52.1 in the previous month, as output and new business in Ireland's private sector experienced moderate growth.