The monthly BNZ Business New Zealand performance of services index released yesterday put the national index at 56.7, the second highest April result since 2007.
An index reading above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 decline. Accommodation, cafes and restaurants were in strongest expansion, followed by property and business services.
Although the other three regions were all in expansion as well, ranging from 52.2 through to 58.9, Otago and Southland stood at 62.6, compared with a lowly 46.3 a year ago last April. Late last week, the separate BNZ Business New Zealand performance of manufacturing index showed Otago and Southland manufacturing was in a continued slump, lagging significantly behind the country's other three regions.
For the third month in a row, Otago and Southland manufacturing was in contraction, at its lowest level since 2009.
Chief executive of the Otago Southland Employers' Association, John Scandrett, said Otago and Southland's index had "jumped substantially" against March's 49.3 index reading, showing evidence local regionally based construction and building services operators were seeing more of the new Canterbury rebuilding opportunities than first thought.
Elsewhere there were positive references to solid trading conditions in selected tourist activities, boosted by good weather patterns and a buoyant Easter holiday period.
However, with the low manufacturing performance it was "prudent to adopt a cautious view" on the future service sector outcomes, Mr Scandrett said.
Within the service sector index nationally all the five sub-indices showed expansion in April, led by new orders-business at 60.5, then activity-sales at 56.1 bouncing back from a decline in March and employment at 55.1 revealed further strength Both the indices of stocks-inventories, at 53.8, and supplier deliveries at 54.7, recorded levels of expansion not seen since July 2008 and September 2007 respectively.
