The services sector in Australia continued to expand in January, and at a faster pace, the latest survey from S&P Global revealed on Wednesday with a services PMI score of 56.3.
That’s up from 51.1 in December and beat last month’s flash estimate of 56.0. It also moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
Central to the latest acceleration in services activity growth was stronger new business inflows in January. Growth in new orders accelerated for a third consecutive month to the fastest since April 2022 amid successful business development efforts and a widening of customer bases, according to services firms. Overseas demand also improved, with companies making successful attempts to promote their services in new markets.
The survey also showed that the composite index jumped to 55.7 – up from 51.0 in December and from 55.5 in the estimate.
New orders similarly rose at the fastest pace since April 2022. To cope with increasing new work inflows and outstanding workloads, companies lifted their staffing levels at a solid pace in January. Business confidence fell to the lowest level since October 2024, however.
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