Eurozone businesses reported the fastest rates of growth in business activity and employment for four-and-a-half years in November. The Markit Eurozone PMI® rose from 53.9 in October to 54.4, according to the preliminary ‘flash’ reading, indicating the fastest rate of expansion of output since May 2011. Moreover, the survey’s employment, new orders and backlogs of work indicators all signalled the strongest monthly expansions in four-and-a-half years.
The survey data also highlighted the broad-based nature of the upturn. The recovery continued to be led by the service sector, where business activity and new business rose at the fastest rates since May 2011 and employment showed the biggest monthly gain for five years. Manufacturing output growth meanwhile also gathered pace, reaching a three-month high amid the largest monthly improvement in order books since April of last year. Factory headcounts also rose at a faster rate as firms raised capacity in line with the improved demand environment.
One area of weakness was France, where business activity rose at the slowest rate for three months, largely reflecting weaker service sector growth. Manufacturing output growth also slowed despite a slightly faster rise in new orders. Growth meanwhile accelerated to a three-month high in Germany, fuelled by the biggest monthly improvement in new business for two years.
Stronger gains in business activity and new orders in the service sector were partly offset, however, by a slowdown in manufacturing. An upturn in job creation was reported across both sectors, nevertheless, resulting in the largest jump in overall employment for nearly four years.
The strongest rate of expansion was seen outside of the eurozone’s two largest economies, where the survey recorded the second-steepest rise in output since the global financial crisis. Employment in the rest of the currency bloc meanwhile showed the joint-largest gain since July 2007.
Despite the upturn in the pace of growth and hiring, the survey showed ongoing deflationary pressures. Average prices charged for goods and services fell marginally, at a rate unchanged on October, while average input costs once again barely rose, linked primarily to falling global commodity prices.
