Latest data released by Markit/BME - 3 August 2020
The preliminary report can be found here. This reaffirms a return to factory activity growth in Germany for the first time since December 2018, as new orders rebound sharply alongside manufacturing output during the month of July.
Much like elsewhere in the region, employment remains the sore spot as manufacturers continued with deep cuts to employment and the rate of job losses accelerated to its quickest pace since 2009.
That will be a key area to watch in the coming months that may disrupt the recovery.
Markit notes that:
"The recovery of the German manufacturing sector remains on track, with the PMI improving further from April's low and now finally in growth territory.
"The headline reading of 51.0 is the highest since December 2018, although it actually understates the strength of the rebounds in the underlying measures of output and new orders, with the PMI dampened by steep falls in both employment and stocks.
"The deep cuts to factory job numbers are a sign that activity and demand are still comfortably down on pre-crisis levels, and represent a key headwind to any recovery.
"Nevertheless, with new orders up sharply in July the immediate outlook for production looks positive, and the manufacturing sector remains on course to make a strong contribution to an expected technical rebound in the economy in the third quarter."
