New Zealand’s services sector continued to show healthy levels of expansion in March, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).

The PSI for March was 57.6.  This was 1.6 points higher than February, and close to the level of activity experienced in January (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining).

BusinessNZ chief executive Phil O’Reilly said that overall activity in the services sector over the last two years has been relatively consistent, with a number of monthly results in between the 56-58 point mark.

“With new orders/business and activity/sales typically displaying values around the 60 point mark, along with around two-thirds of respondents providing positive comments, the sector is in good heart.”

BNZ senior economist Doug Steel said, “A strong service sector bodes well for economic growth and employment. Labour demand is one thing, finding the people might be another with firms reporting difficulty finding staff.”

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