BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Services Index

Starting on a positive note

13 Feb, 2023
54.5
January
+2.5

Monthly Change

expanding
faster rate

Expansion levels for New Zealand’s services sector lifted during the first month of 2023, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).

The PSI for January was 54.5 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was up 2.5 points from December, and above the long-term average of 53.6 for the survey.

BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that the January result reversed its continued drop in expansion levels seen over November and December. In terms of the sub-index results, Activity/Sales (52.1), Employment (51.9) and Stocks/Inventories (54.3) all rose in January. In contrast, New Orders/Business (54.5) eased in expansion to its lowest result since April 2022, while Supplier Deliveries (52.0) decreased 1.9 points.

“Despite the halt in lower expansionary levels, the trend of a higher proportion of negative comments continued in January (61.7%), compared with 58.2% in December and 47.3% in November. The holiday season was a common theme, along with the shortage of labour and general market uncertainty that has been evident for some months now”.

BNZ Senior Economist Doug Steel said that “as encouraging as January’s PSI result might look, we are reluctant to read too much into one month’s result – especially around the holiday period”.

Kirk Hope

Kirk Hope

CEO, BusinessNZ

BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI

Time Series Data

View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI

Services Landscape

Better

The Performance of Services Index (PSI) started the New Year better than it ended last year. January’s 54.5 was a fair improvement on December’s 52.0, popping the PSI back above its long term norm.

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Trend still down

As encouraging as January’s PSI result might look, we are reluctant to read too much into one month’s result – especially around the holiday period.

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People

The lift in PSI and PCI employment is interesting. It might well reflect some satisfying of demand for labour (but by no means all, judging by respondent comments) rather than necessarily more demand for labour.

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Regional view

By region, the Northern PSI was clearly softer than others in January at an unadjusted 40.1. It is tempting to pin this all on extreme weather that some of this region faced during the month.

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Doug Steel

Doug Steel

Senior Economist, BNZ

Sponsor Statement

BNZ is delighted to be associated with the Performance of Services Index (PSI) and BusinessNZ.

This association brings together the significant experience of leading business advocacy body BusinessNZ, and business finance specialist BNZ.

We look forward to continuing our association with BusinessNZ and associated regional organisations, and to playing our part in the ongoing development of the New Zealand service sector.

PSI Time Series Table

The results are seasonally adjusted.

National Indicies Jan 2022 Sep 2022 Oct 2022 Nov 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2023
BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI 47.1 55.9 57.1 53.7 52.0 54.5
Activity/Sales 45.7 59.9 60.7 57.2 51.9 52.1
Employment 48.2 50.7 57.2 51.8 46.9 51.9
New Orders/Business 42.6 62.5 59.5 56.9 57.7 54.5
Stocks/Inventories 48.5 54.3 55.8 54.5 51.6 54.3
Supplier Deliveries 44.4 49.6 52.3 47.8 53.9 52.0

BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI Time Series

January 2016 – January 2023

International Results

J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PSITM

03 Feb 2023
50.1

About the PSI

The BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index is a monthly survey of the service sector providing an early indicator of activity levels.

A PSI reading above 50 points indicates service activity is expanding; below 50 indicates it is contracting.

The main PSI and sub-index results are seasonally adjusted.

Technical Contact

Stephen Summers
Economist, BusinessNZ

[email protected]

PSI Releases

Path of expansion

New Zealand’s services sector continued its path of expansion in February, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for February was 53.0 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below...

Green shoots?

New Zealand’s services sector climbed back into expansion for the start of 2024, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for January was 52.1 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding;...

Activity on holiday

New Zealand’s services sector fell back into contraction during December, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for December was 48.8 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below...

Over the line

New Zealand’s services sector recorded expansion in November, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for November was 51.2 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is...

Lost momentum

New Zealand’s services sector went back into contraction in October, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI). The PSI for October was 48.9 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that...

BNZ – BusinessNZ
Performance of
Composite Index

53.8

GDP-Weighted Index

51.5

Free-Weighted Index

The seasonally adjusted BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index or PCI (which combines the PMI and PSI) saw the two options for measuring the PCI both lift in expansion for January.

The January GDP-Weighted Index (53.8) increased 2.2 points from December, while the Free-Weighted Index (51.5) lifted by 0.9 points.

PCI Time Series Table

The results are seasonally adjusted.

National Indicies Jan 2022 Sep 2022 Oct 2022 Nov 2022 Dec 2022 Jan 2023
GDP-Weighted Index 47.4 55.1 56.0 52.7 51.6 53.8
Free-Weighted Index 48.1 53.9 52.7 50.7 50.6 51.5

BNZ – BusinessNZ PCI Time Series

January 2016 – January 2023

About the PCI

The BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index (PCI) takes into account results from both the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) and the Performance of Services Index (PSI). Combined results are shown in two ways:

GDP-Weighted Index:
Apportions the weight of the manufacturing and services index within the economy to produce an overall result.

Free-Weighted Index:
Combines data from both indexes to produce an overall result.

Both time series for the PCI are then seasonally adjusted.

BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI

Time Series Data

View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI

Our Contributors

The BNZ – BusinessNZ PSI contains data obtained through BusinessNZ’s regional organisations