Economic research firm e-forecasting's World SLI increased by 1.6 per cent during the month to stand at a reading of 244.8, with a score of 100 being the average for the sector. In April, the indicator rose by 1.2 per cent.
Dr Evangelos Simos, chief economist of e-forecasting, said: "The global semiconductor industry leading indicator in May continues to grow but we continue to see a trend of slowing growth."
In addition, the six-month figure showed a 30.3 per cent jump in performancein the half year to May, compared with a 33.6 per cent increase in the six months to April.
The consecutive positive values suggest that the sector has pulled itself out of recession and started to expand again.
This follows data published by iSuppli which pushed up its revenue forecast for the semiconductor industry, thanks to the popularity of consumer electronics.
