Economic activity in the euro area recorded the fastest growth rate in April in the last year, with the advance in the services sector compensating for the decline in industry, according to the results of a survey published on Monday, reports Reuters.

The Composite Purchasing Managers (PMI) indicator in the euro area, calculated by S&P Global and considered a good indicator of the health of the economy, rose in April to 51.7 points, from 50.3 points the previous month, exceeding the preliminary estimate of 51.4 points. It is for the second month in a row that the index exceeds the threshold of 50 points, which separates an increase from a contraction of the economy. It is also the highest level since May 2023, according to Agerpres.

“Service providers expanded their activity for the third consecutive month, ending the period of lack of dynamism observed in the second half of 2023,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The PMI index covering the Eurozone’s dominant services sector rose to 53.3 points in April from 51.5 points the previous month, reaching its highest level since May 2023 and beating the preliminary estimate of 52.9 points . In contrast, the index of industry expectations fell slightly to 61.5 points, after rising to 61.6 points in March, the highest level since February 2022.

Analysts expect the recovery in the service sector to continue, and companies in the field recorded in April the fastest rate of employment growth in almost a year. The labor force index rose in April to 53.5 points, from 52.3 points the previous month.

“It is encouraging that there was a rapid rate of growth in employment, but also an advance in orders and the number of new businesses,” said Cyrus from Rubia.

According to the results of a separate study published on Monday, investor confidence in the euro area improved in May for the seventh consecutive month, reaching the highest level since February 2022.

The Sentix index for the euro zone rose to minus 3.6 points in May, from minus 5.9 points the previous month, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected minus five points. Sentix data includes responses from 1,178 investors. The study was carried out between May 2-4.