While Eurozone growth has slowed, there is renewed confidence among German service sector hirers, according to Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit.

The latest CIPS/Markit data for July, which covers the Eurozone’s manufacturing and service sectors, shows that the Eurozone’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell from 56.7 to 56. In Germany the PMI rose to a four-month high of 59.3, up from 59.0 last month, while in France the index fell from 59.7 last month to 59.0 in August. An reading under 50 represents contraction.

Dobson told Recruiter: “We are seeing jobs added to the Eurozone as a whole particularly in the service sector, but if you take Germany and France out of the equation, employment would have fallen. The job market within the service sector as a whole in the region is not strong.

“We collect data on Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Ireland. In Germany, we saw the service sector add renewed impetus. There may be renewed job creation in the sector.

“I can’t see staffing companies raising staffing levels sharply but I think we will still see the stabilisation in the labour market continue,” he adds.