Activity in Ireland's services sector showed its strongest growth in 16 months in April, a survey published today said.
The NCB Purchasing Managers' Services Index, compiled by NCB Stockbrokers, rose for the fifth consecutive month to 60.8, up from 59.0 the previous month.
A figure above 50 signals growth; one below 50 indicates contraction.
Activity levels continued to rise in April across the services sector, NCB senior economist Mr Eunan King said.
Rising incoming business has further extended the backlog of work as firms remain cautious about hiring and try to improve productivity to offset rising input costs.
The survey said activity in the services sector had been buoyed in April by strong growth of new business, pushing the index to its highest level since December 2000. The recovery in the United States in particular had boosted sentiment in the services economy, the survey said.
The economy slowed sharply in the second half of last year as the global slowdown took hold, with figures earlier this week showing GDP flat in the final quarter of the year.
The Central Statistics Office figures showed growth halved in 2001 as a whole, although the economy still comfortably outstripped its eurozone partners, with gross domestic product up 5.9 per cent on the year and gross national product up 5 per cent.