Australia Services Activity Growth Eases

2026-03-03 22:22 By Felipe Alarcon 1 min. read

The S&P Global Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index fell to 52.8 in February from 56.3 in January, indicating a solid extension of rising services activity to just over two years, according to final readings.

The slower outturn reflected an easing in activity and new business growth, with new orders rising at a slower but still strong pace underpinned by new launches and growing customer bases.

Employment increased at the quickest rate in almost three years as firms hired to cope with ongoing workloads, though pressure on capacity persisted and contributed to rising backlogs.

Export demand continued to improve, leading to a more modest increase in new export business compared with January.

Business confidence, however, declined in February amid concerns over the economic outlook and competition.

On the cost side, input price inflation intensified on the back of higher labour and utility costs, while selling price inflation also rose and climbed to a six-month high.



News Stream
Australia Services Activity Growth Eases
The S&P Global Australia Services PMI Business Activity Index fell to 52.8 in February from 56.3 in January, indicating a solid extension of rising services activity to just over two years, according to final readings. The slower outturn reflected an easing in activity and new business growth, with new orders rising at a slower but still strong pace underpinned by new launches and growing customer bases. Employment increased at the quickest rate in almost three years as firms hired to cope with ongoing workloads, though pressure on capacity persisted and contributed to rising backlogs. Export demand continued to improve, leading to a more modest increase in new export business compared with January. Business confidence, however, declined in February amid concerns over the economic outlook and competition. On the cost side, input price inflation intensified on the back of higher labour and utility costs, while selling price inflation also rose and climbed to a six-month high.
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