2025.09.1423:18:00UTC+00New Zealand Services Sector Contracts for 18th Month

In August 2025, New Zealand's BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) fell to 47.5, down from 48.9 in July, maintaining its position well below the long-term average of 52.9. This marks the 18th consecutive month of contraction. Within the sub-categories, both Activity/Sales, which registered at 46.2, and New Orders/Business at 47.8, experienced further declines from July. While the Employment index showed marginal improvement with a slight rise to 48.3, it continued to reflect a downturn. Notably, the percentage of negative feedback increased slightly to 59.6% in August from 58.5% in July, though this was still an improvement compared to June's 66.2%. Service providers continued to express concerns over persistent inflation, high interest rates, cost-of-living challenges, and weak consumer sentiment, which have consistently suppressed demand. Additional challenges included seasonal slowdowns, increased input costs, supply chain issues, and uncertainties related to government policy.