German services firms created jobs at the fastest rate for nearly 11 years in August, reflecting ongoing efforts to boost capacity amid rises in business activity and new orders. Cost pressures in the sector meanwhile increased to the strongest since early-2011 on the back of higher salaries and transport costs, which service providers passed onto clients in the form of another marked increase in selling prices.

The headline seasonally adjusted final IHS Markit Germany Services PMI Business Activity Index ticked up to a six-month high of 55.0 in August, from 54.1 in July. The latest reading was indicative of a robust rate of growth, and one that was above the average over the current 63-month sequence of expansion.