Italy’s Private Sector Growth Accelerates in August

The S&P Global Italy Composite PMI rose to 53.6 in August 2026 from 52.5 in July, signaling the fastest private-sector expansion since November 2025 and the second-strongest reading in more than three years. Growth was driven by a stronger services sector, which offset a renewed decline in manufacturing output. New business followed a similar pattern, with the drop in new orders at goods producers accelerating. Employment growth strengthened to its fastest pace in more than two years, while the pace of backlog depletion remained moderate. Inflationary pressures eased, although business confidence fell to a three-month low.

The S&P Global Italy Composite PMI rose to 52.5 in July 2026 from 50.8 in June, indicating the robust expansion in private-sector output since November 2025. The improvement was driven by stronger momentum in the services sector, which offset continued weakness in manufacturing. Total new orders increased for the second consecutive month and at the fastest pace so far this year, despite a renewed decline in manufacturing order books. Private-sector employment continued to rise in July, extending the growth trend seen throughout the year, with the rate of job creation reaching its strongest level since June 2025. Meanwhile, both price measures pointed to the softest inflation rates since February.

The S&P Global Italy Composite PMI edged up to 50.8 in June 2026 from 50.4 in May, indicating another improvement in overall business conditions. This was the highest reading since February, supported by growth in both manufacturing and services activity. New business rose for the first time in four months, with the services sector recording a stronger uptick in orders than manufacturing. However, employment growth slowed to a near-neutral level amid the fastest reduction in backlogs of work in 17 months. Inflationary pressures eased to their lowest seen since February. Input and output price inflation were higher in the manufacturing sector than in services.