- Prior 51.6
- Composite PMI 55.2
- Prior 52.2
Both activity and new business saw strong rises in March with employment conditions also growing more positively. S&P Global notes that:
"March's data pointed to another month of recovery in the Italian service sector, and with both activity and new business rising at marked rates, the outlook has brightened noticeably heading into the spring months. And these positive developments continued to spill over into hiring decisions, with firms taking on new workers to the strongest degree since May 2022.
"Confidence in part has emanated from the continued reduction in cost pressures, with latest data indicating the lowest rise in operating costs recorded by the survey for a year-and-a-half. That said, second round effects remain a concern. Firms again signalling higher salaries being paid and that suppliers were continuing to raise their prices markedly, and thereby providing a timely reminder to policymakers of the continued challenges they face in bringing inflation down but not inducing too much of an economic slowdown."
