The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) continued to grow for the nineteenth consecutive month in October, now standing at an impressive 56.8 index points.
The survey, which was conducted by the CBN’s Statistics Department between October 8th and 12th, interviewed respondents in forteen subsectors cutting across all the states of the federation; including the Federal Capital Territaory (FCT).
The respondents were comprised of supply executives of both manufacturing and non-manufacturing entities. They were surveyed with the aim of determining the levels of changes that have occurred compared to the month before.
According to the report, the index’s growth rate in October was faster compared to what obtained in Sepetember. This is because thirteen sectors out of the forteen that were surveyed registered impressive performance.
“The index grew at a faster rate when compared to the index in the previous month. Of the 14 subsectors surveyed, 13 reported growth in the reviewed month in the following order: electrical equipment; petroleum & coal products; printing & related support activities; cement; chemical & pharmaceutical products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; furniture & related products; transportation equipment; plastics & rubber products; food, beverage & tobacco products; fabricated metal products; nonmetallic mineral products; and paper products. The primary metal subsector declined in the review month.” – CBN
The non-manufacturing industry also grew
The report further stated that the composite PMI shows that the non-manufacturing sector expanded to 57.0 points in October, thereby continuing the steady growth rate that has obtained in the last eighteen months.
Seventeen subsectors were surveyed, out of which thirteen recorded steady and faster growth compared to September. Examples of the well-performing sectors here include- wholsale/retail, information & Communications, education, entertainment, utilities, etc.
Meanwhile, employment in the manufacturing sector also expanded
In October, the employment level for the manyfacturing sector stood at 54.8 points, marking continued increase in the past eighteen months. forteen subsectors were surveyed, with eight reporting increased employment.
“The employment level index in October 2018 stood at 54.8 points, indicating growth in
employment level for the eighteenth consecutive month. Of the 14 subsectors surveyed, 8 reported increased employment level, 4 remained unchanged while 2 reported reduced employment level in the review month.”
