Kent and the south east have seen the weakest rise in new business for more than a year.

Activity rose at a slower pace than the UK trend for the second month running, and firms also faced the fastest rise in average input costs for four months.

The South East PMI report for September, conducted by Markit on behalf of the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), highlights the weaker growth path of business activity in the third quarter of the year. The service sector fared better than manufacturing, reversing a trend seen earlier in the year.

The survey also found slower growth among businesses that recently moved into the region. The overall rate of new order growth was the slowest since August 2009, with similarly weak expansion seen across manufacturing and services.

The rising cost of metals, timber, paper, plastics, foodstuffs and labour fuelled further concerns about inflation.

But there was better news on the jobs front, with an expansion in the regional workforce for five out of the last six months. It was the biggest rise in jobs growth since January 1997.

Paul Lovejoy, SEEDA's executive director, said: "The latest survey reinforces our view of modest expansion of business activity in the region's economy in September, Weaker demand and continuing increases in input prices have led to a sharp slowdown in manufacturing growth but it is encouraging to see an increase in investment in capacity and a slightly sharper pace of expansion in service sector activity.

"Whilst it is encouraging to see that employment growth has returned to the south east's business base private sector economy, a further moderation of growth in incoming new businesses raises concerns about the strength of the recovery in the south east."