The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Services Index (Australian PSI®) fell by 8.6 points to 49.2 in May, indicating mild contraction and a deterioration from the strong results seen in recent months (results above 50 points indicate expansion, with the distance from 50 points indicating the strength of the increase).
Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group, said: "The Australian services sector contracted mildly in May after a period of healthy expansion in the earlier months of 2022. Performance was mixed across the sector with strong growth in logistics, retail trade and personal, recreational & other services offset by sharp declines in business & property services and health & education services. While overall sales by services business were flat, employment fell, and new orders declined slightly. Input prices pressures remained high and respondents continued to point to difficulties securing inputs and staff. The flat sales outcomes and the steam coming out of new orders may be an early reaction to actual and anticipated interest rate rises," Mr Willox said.
Australian PSI® – Key Findings for May 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® |
49.2 |
-8.6 |
50.2 |
Business-oriented services |
|||
|
Sales |
50.7 |
-13.0 |
50.7 |
Business & property |
45.7 |
-7.4 |
50.8 |
|
Employment |
47.4 |
-10.4 |
50.4 |
Logistics |
59.8 |
6.0 |
47.9 |
|
New Orders |
49.7 |
-3.3 |
50.9 |
Finance & insurance |
na |
na |
na |
|
Supplier deliveries |
48.9 |
-8.8 |
48.9 |
||||
|
Finished stocks |
49.0 |
-6.1 |
48.9 |
Consumer-oriented services |
|||
|
Capacity utilisation (%) |
82.3 |
0.0 |
76.6 |
Retail trade & hospitality |
57.9 |
7.3 |
47.8 |
|
Prices and wages |
Health & education |
43.8 |
-8.1 |
51.9 |
|||
|
Input prices |
68.7 |
-9.1 |
64.2 |
Personal, recreational & other |
59.2 |
15.9 |
53.1 |
|
Selling prices |
61.9 |
-3.6 |
49.5 |
||||
|
Average wages |
57.4 |
-9.8 |
57.3 |
Australian PSI® (trend) |
55.0 |
-1.1 |
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
