An index measuring the services sector in Australia came in with a score of 46.1 in December, the latest survey results from the Australia Industry Group revealed on Monday - down from 48.9 in November.
A score below 50 signals contraction, while a reading above 50 means expansion.
The December reading marks the 23rd consecutive month that the services sector has contracted, AiG said.
Among the individual components of the survey, sub-indexes for employment, new orders and sales were all firmly in contractionary territory.
"Continuing weakness in the important services sector underlines the fragility of the domestic economy at a time when a lift in non-mining related activity is needed to meet the challenge of rebalancing in the wake of the mining investment boom," said AiG Chief Executive Innes Willox in a statement accompanying the data.
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