WELLINGTON: Manufacturing activity in New Zealand improved for the first time in five months, hitting an eight-month high driven by broad-based expansion across the strongly growing economy, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Bank of New Zealand-Business NZ's seasonally adjusted performance of manufacturing index (PMI) was 58.4 from an upwardly revised 56.5.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity, and below a contraction.

The index showed a solid rise in employment, but all other sub-indexes were also in expansion.