According to a private survey done by IHS Markit Ltd, a British-American firm that deals in information, analytics and solutions, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) of the service sector in India had witnessed a healthy increase to 55.3 in February which was higher by 2.5 compared to January 2021.
However, the survey also noted that the employment rates had dropped in the service sector for the third month in a row. “Despite the ongoing growth of the total new business, service sector employment fell further during February. A number of companies suggested that the Covid-19 pandemic restricted labour supply. The pace of job shedding accelerated from January but was moderate overall,” the word said, attributing this decline to the pandemic.
An Economic Associate-Director at IHS Markit, Pollyanna De Lima said that the major blow that the Indian economy had suffered in the first two quarters of the 2020-2021 fiscal year had started turning around as was witnessed in the FY2020-21 Q3 results; the economy is anticipated to recover in this final quarter.
The economy at the end of December 2020, showed the first signs of recovery after rising 0.4% for the first time in months, which is not a lot but is a positive indicator in terms of a gradual improvement in the economic condition.
