The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI®) fell by 5.3 points to 48.0 in September, slipping into contraction following two months of expansionary readings (results below 50 points indicate contraction, with lower numbers indicating a stronger rate of contraction).
Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group, said: "The increasingly uncertain economic environment is dragging on service industries. The sector has fallen into contraction in September, and all services activity indicators have worsened in the last month. Low consumer and business confidence – following repeated interest rate rises and persistent inflation – were major factors in this decline. The indicators for sales, new orders, and selling prices all fell, while input prices continued their upward march adding to inflationary pressures," Mr Willox said.
Australian PSI® – Key Findings for September 2022:
|
Seasonally adjusted |
Index this month |
Change from last month |
12- month average |
Seasonally adjusted |
Index this month |
Change from last month |
12- month average |
|
Australian PSI® |
48.0 |
-5.3 |
50.2 |
Business-oriented services |
|||
|
Sales |
41.8 |
-10.1 |
50.6 |
Business & property |
46.6 |
0.4 |
50.7 |
|
Employment |
52.6 |
-0.6 |
50.5 |
Logistics |
41.3 |
-9.8 |
47.9 |
|
New Orders |
50.2 |
-7.1 |
50.9 |
Finance & insurance |
na |
na |
na |
|
Supplier deliveries |
43.1 |
-3.7 |
48.8 |
||||
|
Finished stocks |
53.5 |
-3.4 |
49.1 |
Consumer-oriented services |
|||
|
Capacity utilisation (%) |
79.1 |
-4.6 |
76.7 |
Retail trade & hospitality |
51.2 |
-11.9 |
48.0 |
|
Prices and wages |
Health & education |
40.6 |
-16.9 |
51.8 |
|||
|
Input prices |
73.4 |
4.7 |
64.3 |
Personal, recreational & other |
61.3 |
15.5 |
53.1 |
|
Selling prices |
58.3 |
-2.9 |
49.8 |
||||
|
Average wages |
65.9 |
-1.7 |
57.5 |
Australian PSI® (trend) |
49.6 |
-0.3 |
50.1 |
Results above 50 points indicate expansion. Data is seasonally adjusted; trend data in the Australian PSI® calculated with a Henderson 13-month filter formula.
na: Results are not available for this sector in this period due to unusually low survey response numbers. All sectors are included in the total results.
NOW AVAILABLE:
Click here for full list of 2022 release dates for the Australian PSI®
Background: The Ai Group Australian PSI® is a leading indicator of services activity in the Australian economy. It is a seasonally adjusted national composite index based on the diffusion indices for sales, orders/new business, deliveries, inventories and employment with varying weights. An Australian PSI® reading above 50 points indicates that services activity is generally expanding; below 50, that it is declining. The distance from 50 is indicative of the strength of the expansion or decline. Results are based on a sample of around 200 companies each month.
Media Enquiries: Tony Melville: 0419 190 347
