Prices charged by service producers to businesses in Ireland fell 3.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 compared with a year earlier, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office.
The most notable changes in the year were seen in architecture, engineering and technical testing, where prices fell 8.2 per cent, and in advertising and market research, which saw prices fall 7.7 per cent.
There were further declines seen in employment and human resource activities, which slipped 4.6 per cent compared to last year.
On a quarterly basis, service prices fell 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, compared with a fall of 1.7 per cent in the first quarter.
The most significant quarterly price changes were seen in employment and human resource activities, which decline 6.0 per cent as demand fell for services due to a fall in the number of vacancies. Air transport fell 4 per cent in the quarter.
Computer programming and consultancy, however, rose 2.9 per cent.