6th Jan 2026 02:43
(Alliance News) - Ireland's private sector expansion slowed in December, as both services and manufacturing cooled but remained in growth territory, S&P Global reported Tuesday.
The AIB Ireland composite purchasing managers' index fell to 53.6 in December from 55.8 in November.
A reading above the 50.0 neutral mark indicates an overall increase in month-on-month business activity, while a reading below signals a contraction.
Specifically, the services PMI dipped at the softest pace in three months to 54.8 in December from November's 42-month high of 58.5.
David McNamara, AIB chief economist, commented: "This still implies robust growth, driven by gains in current activity, new business and employment. Overall, the rate of growth in the Irish services sector continues to outperform the eurozone, UK and US flash PMIs at 52.6, 52.1 and 52.9, respectively.
"From a sectoral perspective, three of the four sub-sectors expanded output during the month. Financial Services saw the strongest growth, followed by Technology, Media & Telecoms, which saw growth slow markedly on the month. Notably, Transport, Tourism & Leisure registered a renewed fall in activity, the ninth monthly contraction in 2025."
Employment continued to rise, while input price inflation fell to a five-month low, though firms still cite wages, insurance and energy as key cost pressures.
"Looking ahead, firms in the Irish services sector were optimistic on the prospects for expansion in activity levels over the coming 12 months, in line with the nine-month high reached in November. Companies pointed to investments, new products, recruitment and recovering EU and UK markets as reasons for optimism," added McNamara.
On Friday, S&P Global reported that manufacturing PMI eased to 52.2 in December from 52.8 the previous month.
S&P Global compiles the PMI figures each month using survey responses from a panel of 400 service sector companies and around 250 manufacturers. The composite figure is a weighted average of the services PMI and manufacturing output index.
By Judy Amaca, Alliance News reporter Asia-Pacific
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