That said, the pace of increase was softer than that seen in August. The sector that recorded the most improved performance compared to the previous month was Insurance.

After declining for the first time in 16 months in August, business activity across the sector rose sharply in September, to place it second in the rankings.

Meanwhile, output across the Chemicals sector fell back into contraction following three straight months of growth. The reduction was only slight, however, and similar to those seen for Forestry & Paper Products and Metals & Mining, which are also part of the broader Basic Materials category.

When ranking the performance of broad sectors, Healthcare overtook Basic Materials to rank in last place due to a rapid decline in Healthcare Services activity. Moreover, Healthcare Services was the only area to record a decline in new business in September.

Every other sector experienced growth in new orders, thus representing the largest number of sectors to record sales growth in the same month for almost seven-and-a-half years.

With demand conditions generally improving across the board, all sectors were optimistic regarding output growth in the coming 12 months. For the first time in six months, every monitored sector anticipated an increase.

That said, the employment picture remained mixed. Half of the sectors saw payroll numbers rise in September, but rates of job creation were generally marginal. Elsewhere, employment stagnated in the Technology Equipment sector, while the remaining industries recorded declines.

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