A service sector employee sits at his desk. (Photo: REUTERS)
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Report On Business, a gauge of service-sector growth in the U.S., declined to 56.9 in September from 59 in August. The reading was lower than the 57.5 Wall Street largely anticipated, and is the lowest reading since June.
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Report on Business comes after manufacturing data posted contraction regionally in the month of September, and the Labor Department’s jobs report severely disappointed. The U.S. economy added only 142,000 jobs, the number of Americans in the labor force fell to the lowest level since October 1977, wages fell and the lowest number of men ever were working or seeking work.
The 13 non-manufacturing industries reporting growth in September — listed in order — are: Educational Services; Construction; Finance & Insurance; Health Care & Social Assistance; Utilities; Wholesale Trade; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Management of Companies & Support Services; Accommodation & Food Services; Information; Public Administration; and Transportation & Warehousing. The four industries reporting contraction in September are: Mining; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Retail Trade; and Other Services.
| ISM® NON-MANUFACTURING SURVEY RESULTS AT A GLANCE COMPARISON OF ISM® NON-MANUFACTURING AND ISM® MANUFACTURING SURVEYS* SEPTEMBER 2015 |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Manufacturing | Manufacturing | ||||||||
| Index | Series Index Sep |
Series Index Aug |
Percent Point Change |
Direction | Rate of Change |
Trend** (Months) |
Series Index Sep |
Series Index Aug |
Percent Point Change |
| NMI®/PMI® | 56.9 | 59.0 | -2.1 | Growing | Slower | 68 | 50.2 | 51.1 | -0.9 |
| Business Activity/Production | 60.2 | 63.9 | -3.7 | Growing | Slower | 74 | 51.8 | 53.6 | -1.8 |
| New Orders | 56.7 | 63.4 | -6.7 | Growing | Slower | 74 | 50.1 | 51.7 | -1.6 |
| Employment | 58.3 | 56.0 | +2.3 | Growing | Faster | 19 | 50.5 | 51.2 | -0.7 |
| Supplier Deliveries | 52.5 | 52.5 | 0.0 | Slowing | Same | 4 | 50.2 | 50.7 | -0.5 |
| Inventories | 51.0 | 54.5 | -3.5 | Growing | Slower | 6 | 48.5 | 48.5 | 0.0 |
| Prices | 48.4 | 50.8 | -2.4 | Decreasing | From Increasing |
1 | 38.0 | 39.0 | -1.0 |
| Backlog of Orders | 54.5 | 56.5 | -2.0 | Growing | Slower | 4 | 41.5 | 46.5 | -5.0 |
| New Export Orders | 52.5 | 52.0 | +0.5 | Growing | Faster | 5 | 46.5 | 46.5 | 0.0 |
| Imports | 53.0 | 51.5 | +1.5 | Growing | Faster | 3 | 50.5 | 51.5 | -1.0 |
| Inventory Sentiment | 65.0 | 69.0 | -4.0 | Too High | Slower | 220 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Customers’ Inventories | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 54.5 | 53.0 | +1.5 |
| Overall Economy | Growing | Slower | 74 | ||||||
| Non-Manufacturing Sector | Growing | Slower | 68 | ||||||
* Non-Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® data is seasonally adjusted for Business Activity, New Orders, Prices and Employment Indexes. Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business® data is seasonally adjusted for New Orders, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries.
** Number of months moving in current direction.
