DUBLIN A slump in Irish manufacturing activity deepened slightly again last month as output was at one of its lowest levels on record, but firms resumed adding staff amid a tight labour market, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Ireland fell to 47.0 in July from 47.3 in June, its lowest mark in three years and staying below the line separating growth from contraction for the fifth successive month.

Like in other euro zone countries, Ireland's services sector has continued to boom and offset the downturn in manufacturing to keep the economy in expansion mode after being the fastest growing across the bloc last year.

Manufacturers who responded to the survey said the weakness in Ireland continued to emanate from muted demand and pushed the sub-index measuring output to 42.2 from 45.0 in June, a low only previously reached during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

However, firms modestly increased their headcount after cutting staff in June and sustained falls in input costs and output charges offered them and their clients some respite.

The contraction in the headline Irish manufacturing rate was also not as deep as in the euro zone as a whole or neighbouring Britain where flash data pointed to readings of 42.7 and 45.0 respectively.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Susan Fenton)