- New business 56.2 vs 56.4 in Jan
- Employment 52.0 vs 54.1 prior
- Expectations 74.0 vs 80.8 prior
Weather to blame once again as the index falls to the lowest in four months.
Chris Williamson at Markit says;
“The unusually severe winter weather undoubtedly looks to have taken its toll on the economy in the first quarter. Over the first two months of the year, the manufacturing and services PMI surveys are signalling an annualised growth rate of just 1.6%, which represents a halving of growth compared to the 3.2% pace seen in the fourth quarter. Payroll growth in the vast services economy also weakened alongside the disruptions to business activity, hitting the weakest for almost a year. However, companies clearly remained in expansion mode, with just over half of all firms expecting activity to rise over the coming year against just 3% expecting a decline. The ongoing mood of optimism reflects growth of new business remaining reassuringly strong. The resulting rise in backlogs of work should help drive an upturn in activity in March, and suggests that the underlying health of the economy remains sound in the face of the onslaught from the weather.”
