NZ services sector expands in August, composite index shows 4% annual GDP growth

NZ services sector expands in August, composite index shows 4% annual GDP growth
Sophie Boot
By Sophie Boot Sept. 18 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand's services sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, gained in August, though employment dropped back. The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index rose 1.3 points to a seasonally adjusted 57.3 last month. All of the five sub-indices were above the 50 reading that separates contraction from expansion, while three rose in the month, with activity and sales jumping 7.1 points to 62.9. Employment fell 2.8 points to 52.2, and while this is still above the long-term ave...