Sales and exports of manufactured products dropped last month, a survey of Australian companies suggests, but the industry hired more workers and wages increased.
“While sales and production were down in September, the lifts in employment and new orders are encouraging pointers for coming months,” Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said after the release of Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index on Tuesday.
The overall PMI was up 1.6 points to 54.7 in September, above the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction in activity, after a 1.8 per cent rise in July.
AAP