WASHINGTON, DC — The 90-day moving average of worldwide semiconductors sales rose 2% sequentially but fell 3.9% year-over-year in September as the global economic malaise continued.

Overall sales reached $24.79 billion for the month, up 2% from August, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.

Third quarter sales rose 1.8% sequentially to $74.4 billion. Year to date sales are down 4.7% compared to last year. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average.

“Semiconductor sales increased from August to September and from Q2 to Q3 as the industry continued to exhibit relative steadiness in a choppy global economy, but the global industry remains behind last year’s pace due to lingering economic headwinds,” said Brian Toohey, SIA president and CEO. “Following [the US presidential] election, we stand ready to work with the newly elected Administration and Congress to enact policies that ease economic uncertainty and remove barriers to innovation.”

Regionally, sales increased by 5.8% in the Americas on a sequential monthly basis, marking the region’s largest increase since May 2010. Sales also increased from August to September in Asia Pacific (1.6%), Europe (0.7%) and Japan (0.2%), but all four regions lagged September 2011 sales.

“On a regional basis, the Americas were particularly encouraging, posting the largest monthly increase in more than two years,” Toohey said. “The region also received positive news last week when SIA announced that the US semiconductor industry now directly employs almost a quarter of a million workers and added jobs three times faster than the rest of the US economy.”

Check out Board Talk, our new bulletin board: theprintedcircuitboard.com