Business activity buoyant in May
06/06/2006 - 11:09:41Business growth and higher staffing levels in May led to the biggest expansion of business activity in Ireland for five and a half years, according to the latest NCB Purchasing Managers’ Index.
Although business confidence eased marginally since April, the degree of confidence at Irish services firms remained strong in May.
More than half of firms expected activity to be higher in 12 months’ time, according to the index, with many commenting that marketing initiatives and business expansion plans contributed to an optimistic outlook.
Higher staff salaries and rising energy costs were named as two factors leading to an increase in costs. More than 35% of surveyed firms indicated that input prices had risen since the previous month.
