BERLIN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Germany's private sector expanded in September for a 17th consecutive month, a survey showed on Friday, suggesting Europe's largest economy will grow again in the third quarter after shrinking in the second.
Markit's final composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks growth in the manufacturing and services sectors that account for more than two-thirds of the economy, climbed to 54.1 from 53.7 in August.
That was well above the key 50 threshold dividing growth from contraction and was also slightly stronger than the flash estimate of 54.0. It was driven by expansion in the services sector, while the manufacturing sector shrank.
"In contrast to the struggling manufacturing sector, Germany's service sector continued to power ahead at the end of the third quarter," said Oliver Kolodseike, economist at Markit.
He said PMI surveys suggested the German economy had rebounded between July and September after contracting by 0.2 percent in the April-June period. "However, economic growth is expected to be well below the 0.7 percent expansion seen in the first quarter, as manufacturing stagnated," he added.
Service providers' order books were fuller in September and they stepped up recruitment. But they were the least upbeat about their future prospects since June 2013 as some firms fretted that the planned introduction of a national minimum wage in January 2015 would take its toll on economic growth.
Service firms increased their prices as input costs also rose but the rate of inflation was at its weakest in more than four years.
(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Toby Chopra)