PARIS (Reuters) - Growth in France's dominant services sector slowed more than initially thought in October, a survey showed on Friday, with companies' efforts to cut prices failing to bring new business as the large hotel and restaurant sector suffered.
Data compiler Markit said its purchasing managers index for services fell to 51.4 from 53.3 in September, worse than a
preliminary reading of 52.1.
The index dropped closer to the 50-point threshold dividing expansion from contraction which it has stood above for four months.
Markit's overall PMI index covering services and manufacturing fell to 51.6 from 52.7 in September, lower than the 52.2 originally reported.
"Growth in the French service sector abated at the start of the fourth quarter, with activity increasing at the slowest rate in three months," IHS Markit Economist Alex Gill said.
"This was indicative of waning new business growth, as further solid cuts to output prices proved insufficient to prevent the slide."
Markit said the hotels and restaurants sector, which has been hit by a sharp drop in tourism following deadly attacks by Islamists in Paris and Nice, continued to record a sharp contraction.
In bad news for President Francois Hollande, who has staked his political future on bringing the unemployment rate down, Markit's employment index slipped back into contraction
territory at 49.3.
"On a more positive note, business expectations remained strong, suggesting companies are hopeful conditions will continue to improve in the months ahead," Markit's Gill said.