New Zealand service activity index dips to 55.0 in February - BNZ

FILE PHOTO: A man and a woman sit on a seat next to their bicycles as a container ship sails into Oriental Bay in the New Zealand capital city of Wellington September 17, 2011. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Growth in New Zealand's services slowed slightly in February due to "below par" employment, a survey showed on Monday.

The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted performance of services index (PSI) slipped to 55.0 from 55.7 in the previous month. It was still above its long-term average of 54.4, the survey showed.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity; anything below indicates contraction.

Last week, a companion manufacturing survey (PMI) showed manufacturing slowing in February, with the index dropping to 53.4 from 54.4 in January.

"The recent PSI readings, along with those of the Performance of Manufacturing Index, certainly counsel against getting carried away," the survey said.

(Reporting by Marius Zaharia, editing by Larry King)