(corrects previous month in second paragraph to September from August)
ZURICH, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Swiss manufacturing industry contracted for the second month running in October, a fall in the country's PMI to a 5-1/2 year low showed on Monday, adding to recent signs that the economy might follow others into recession.
The Credit Suisse/SVME Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 47.0, its lowest since June 2003, from 47.8 in September, Credit Suisse said.
The PMI last stood below the 50-point growth threshold for two consecutive months in the summer of 2003, when the overall Swiss economy posted its last full-year of contraction.
The PMI survey showed that Swiss manufacturers cut back staff for the first time since July 2005.
At the same time, costs fell for the first time in over three years, with the purchasing price index posting its sharpest month-on-month drop since the survey started in 1995.
In the euro zone, where Switzerland sells more than half of all its exports, the flash PMI dropped to the lowest level since October 2001.
Last week, Switzerland's leading growth barometer, the KOF indicator, fell by more than expected as export demand and consumer spending faded, fuelling recession fears. (Reporting by Sven Egenter; editing by David Stamp)