Out of service – PSI 18 May 2020 25.9April-11.4Monthly Changecontractingfaster rate Kirk Hope Chief Executive, BusinessNZ View profile Activity in New Zealand’s services sector ground to a halt during April, according to the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).The PSI for April was 25.9, which was 11.4 points down from March* (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). The April result was also the lowest level of activity since the survey began in 2007.BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope said that like its sister survey the PMI, the almost total lockdown of the country at level 4 meant most businesses were either significantly affected, or simply couldn't trade at all during April."The proportion of negative comments for April stood at 91%, with COVID-19 the key word used throughout. Given the move to level 2 last week for most businesses, a return to higher levels of activity is expected looking forward. However, the social distancing restrictions that remain in place will still provide a brake for many." BNZ Senior Economist Craig Ebert said that "a sizable rate of contraction is what you get when businesses are forbidden from operating, especially those with a customer-facing focus. Covid-19 has seen to that, with policy responses reinforcing the sudden stop".*Due to not running the March 2020 PSI because of COVID-19, the March figures have been obtained by taking an average of both the actual combined February 2020 and April 2020 values. The results have then been seasonally adjusted. View the PSI Time Series Data Main Indicies Regional Results Craig EbertSenior Economist, BNZ The PSIAs low as it was, the 25.9 reading on the Performance of Services Index (PSI) for April shouldn’t have come as any surprise. A sizable rate of contraction is what you get when businesses are forbidden from operating, especially those with a customer-facing focus.Read moreDetailsThere wasn’t a great deal of variation across service industry type, with all registering very low readings for April (in unadjusted terms).Read moreEmploymentIf there was any good news in the latest PSI, it’s something we also saw in the PMI. That is, a relative resilience about staffing. Not a positive one, for sure, but a lot less negative than other aspects of the survey.Read moreGlobalUnemployment might not look to be as bad in New Zealand as it’s getting in a global sense (witness the US jobless rate at 14.7% in April). However, our readings on the PSI and PMI are, broadly speaking, very much in the thick of the weakness we’ve seen across the world.Read more View the BNZ Services Landscape PSI Time Series TableThe results are seasonally adjusted. National IndiciesApr2019Dec2019Jan2020Feb2020Mar2020Apr2020 BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI 53.051.457.352.137.325.9 Activity/Sales 53.751.255.554.530.411.5 Employment49.351.952.950.846.442.1 New Orders/Business56.854.062.954.634.716.4 Stocks/Inventories50.951.658.751.745.145.9 Supplier Deliveries52.847.556.944.234.225.6 View the PSI Time Series Data BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI Time Series January 2016 – April 2020 International ResultsJ.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PSITM 6 May 202026.5 25.7GDP-Weighted Index24.0Free-Weighted Index The seasonally adjusted BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index or PCI (which combines the PMI and PSI) saw the two options for measuring the PCI both at their lowest levels ever.The April GDP-Weighted Index (25.7) decreased 10.8 points from March, while the Free-Weighted Index (24.0) fell 12.4 points. PCI Time Series TableThe results are seasonally adjusted. National IndicesApr2019Dec2019Jan2020Feb2020Mar2020Apr2020 GDP-Weighted Index 52.951.356.452.436.525.7 Free-Weighted Index52.250.753.253.336.424.0 View the PCI Time Series Data BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI Time Series January 2016 – April 2020 In this section Surveys & Statistics Performance of Manufacturing Index Performance of Services Index Compliance Cost Survey Exporters Survey Southern Cross Health Society - BusinessNZ Wellness in the Workplace Survey Reports & Publications BusinessNZ Planning Forecast International BusinessNZ RAT Suppliers Guides & Tools BusinessNZ RAT Suppliers RATs for non-critical business, agencies and organisations BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI Time Series Data View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI BNZ - BusinessNZ PCI Time Series Data View seasonally adjusted and unadjusted time series data for the BNZ - BusinessNZ combined PMI & PSI. BNZ is delighted to be associated with the Performance of Services Index (PSI) and BusinessNZ.This association brings together the significant experience of leading business advocacy body BusinessNZ, and business finance specialist BNZ.We look forward to continuing our association with BusinessNZ and associated regional organisations, and to playing our part in the ongoing development of the New Zealand service sector. View website Media Comment For media comment, please contact: Kirk Hope, 04 496 6560 Craig Ebert, BNZ 04 474 6799 Technical Comment For more information or assistance with data interpretation, please contact: Steve Summers 04 496 6564 ssummers@businessnz.org.nz Our ContributorsThe BNZ - BusinessNZ PSI contains data obtained through BusinessNZ's regional organisations About the PSIThe BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index is a monthly survey of the service sector providing an early indicator of activity levels.A PSI reading above 50 points indicates service activity is expanding; below 50 indicates it is contracting.The main PSI and sub-index results are seasonally adjusted.About the PCIThe BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Composite Index (PCI) takes into account results from both the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) and the Performance of Services Index (PSI). Combined results are shown in two ways: GDP-Weighted Index: Apportions the weight of the manufacturing and services index within the economy to produce an overall result. Free-Weighted Index: Combines data from both indexes to produce an overall result.Both time series for the PCI are then seasonally adjusted. Related Articles RMA shakeup long overdue Softening in September – PSI Spring is in the air Smooth operator – PSI Easing expansion – PSI View more