Having fallen in July for the first time since December 2012, employment rose modestly in August, with a subdued return to hiring seen across all three sectors (including the first increase in manufacturing headcounts recorded so far this year).
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The Caixin China General Services purchasing manager index (PMI) for August stood at 52.1, up 0.4 points from July and well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 103.48 yen from 103.31 yen and the euro edged down to $1.1178 from $1.1202.
The Services diffusion index, by Markit Economics, printed 52.9 from the prior reading of 47.4, beating economists’ expectations of a 50.0 figure.
The rise is the largest monthly increase in the history of the survey.
The UK could dodge a Brexit recession after a record rebound for the nation’s powerhouse service sector last month, experts declared today.
But the survey also showed firms cut jobs in August for the first time in nearly a year, although business expectations climbed the most since January 2015, indicating companies are optimistic about the future.
The UK service sector rebounded in August after Brexit uncertainty saw the sector fall to an 89-month low in July.
New orders touched a four-month high and companies took on more staff following a pause in July, putting the United Kingdom on course to avoid recession at the turn of the year.
Markit economist Oliver Kolodseike said: “While we should still expect GDP to expand in the third quarter, recent data suggest that the rate of growth is likely to be uninspiring”. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7 percent to 23,668.40, while the Shanghai Composite edged up almost 0.2 percent to 3,072.10.
Inflationary pressures also intensified in August, with overall input costs rising at a quickest pace since January 2015, driven in part by the sharpest rise in purchasing prices for almost five years.
He added that although it was too soon to judge the long-term fallout of Brexit, the “initial shock of the June vote has begun to dissipate”.
It is also above the 50 level that divides growth from contraction and puts the United Kingdom on course to grow by 0.1pc in the third quarter.
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“Inflationary pressures are also cooling amid intense competition, and hiring is on the wane as businesses grow more concerned about the outlook”.
