Australia Service Sector Slows In December - S&P Global

(RTTNews) - The service sector in Australia continued to expand in December, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Tuesday with a services PMI score of 51.1.

That's down from 52.8 in November, although it remains above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

While capacity constraints reportedly limited growth in business activity in December, the upturn in output was nevertheless driven by higher levels of new business. New work inflows expanded at a rate that was solid and the quickest in three months on the back of more favorable demand conditions and rising customer numbers at the end of the year.

Greater client interest from abroad also supported another expansion in new export business in December. To cope with rising workloads, services firms further increased their staffing levels. The rate of job creation was notably the quickest in three months and solid overall.