WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Growth in U.S. service-sector activity slowed slightly in September as employment rose and inflationary pressures receded, the Institute’s monthly survey results showed on Wednesday. for Supply Management (ISM).
Its activity index fell to 56.7 after 56.9 in August. The Reuters consensus put it at 56.0.
The new orders component of the survey fell more sharply, to 60.6 from 61.8, but companies reported an increase in export contracts.
The employment sub-index meanwhile rose to 53.0 from 50.2 in August, suggesting that labor demand remains strong.
That of prices paid by service companies fell to 68.7 in September, its lowest level since January 2021, after 71.5 a month earlier.
(Report Lucia Mutikani, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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