Service Sector Echoes Manufacturing's Slow Growth In April
Jan. 13, 2005
By John S. McClenahen Mirroring the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy, the service sector continued to grow in April -- although at a slower pace than it did in March. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) business activity index for ...
ByJohn S. McClenahen Mirroring the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy, the service sector continued to grow in April -- although at a slower pace than it did in March. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) business activity index for non-manufacturing was 55.3% in April, down two percentage points from March's 57.3%. A figure above 50% indicates the non-manufacturing sector generally is growing; below 50% is a signal that it's contracting. Looking at the elements that make up the overall index, "the good news . . . is that the new orders index is at 56.4%, 1.5 percentage points above the 54.9% new orders index for March," says Ralph G. Kauffman, chairperson of ISM's non-manufacturing business survey committee and coordinator of the purchasing and supply management program at the University of Houston-Downtown. "The bad news is another increase in the prices index, indicating that non-manufacturing buyers had to pay more for their purchases in April than in March."
