Italy’s service sector contracted the most on record in April as the economic fallout from the [coronavirus][1], or covid-19, intensified, data from IHS Markit showed on Wednesday.
The headline services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to an all-time low of 10.8 in April from 17.4 in March. A score below 50 indicates contraction.
Due to lockdown, [business][2] activity and new business both declined at the sharpest rates in more than 22 years of data collection.
Workforce numbers continued to fall, with the rate of job shedding accelerating to the most marked on record.
Further, the survey showed that expectations with regards to output remained negative, although sentiment picked up slightly from March.
The composite output index, that combines manufacturing and services, fell to a series low of 10.9, down from 20.2 in March. The latest drop was the most marked in more than 22 years of data collection.
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