12 alessia baldassarri 20 who is part of a femaleonly delivery service that seeks to help with unemployment the gender pay gap and making women feel safer rides her electric bike in rome italy february 22 2022 reutersyara nardi rome nov 4 reuters  italys services sector contracted for a second month running in october and at the steepest rate for almost two years as new business plunged amid strong price pressures a survey showed on friday sp globals purchasing managers index pmi for italian services fell to 464 in october from 488 in september dropping further below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction and marking the lowest reading since january 2021 the result was well below the median forecast of 485 in a reuters survey of 13 analysts and will strengthen fears that the euro zones third largest economy is heading for recession the new business subindex for the sector sank to 457 from 491 the month before the pmi for italys smaller manufacturing sector released on wednesday showed contraction for a fourth month running in october with activity posting its steepest decline since may 2020 when the economy was struggling with covid19 lockdowns the composite purchasing managers index combining services and manufacturing stood at 458 in october down from 476 in september and pointing to a deepening slump the october reading was the lowest since december 2020 italys economy expanded by a stronger than expected 05 in the third quarter from the previous three months data showed on monday but analysts and the italian treasury expect a contraction in the fourth quarter as firms and households struggle with soaring energy costs