Services activities moderate in Sept but firms continue hiring: PMI survey

Increase in companies creating employment ended a nine-month sequence of job shedding.

Activities in services, the biggest sector in Indian economy, moderated in September compared to August though states eased restrictions to slow down the coronavirus, said the IHS markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) survey on Tuesday. Activities still grew second fastest since February 2020.

PMI declined to 55.2 in September from 56.7 in August. In PMI lexicon, a reading above 50 shows expansion, while below it means contraction.

To give it a perspective, PMI in September declined from an 18-month high index in the previous month. Whereas the index in August had risen on the base of contraction with PMI standing