WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) – Growth in U.S. service-sector activity in February fell to its lowest level in a year and payrolls shrank, the Institute’s monthly survey showed on Thursday. for Supply Management (ISM).
The ISM index fell to 56.5, the weakest reading since February 2021, after 59.9 in January.
This third consecutive drop occurred despite the decrease in the number of cases of infection by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, a significant ebb of the epidemic since mid-January.
Economists polled by Reuters on average had expected the figure to rise to 61.
The ISM survey was conducted mainly before the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army last Thursday, which favored a sharp rise in the prices of energy and many other raw materials.
The sub-index of new orders received by service companies also fell to 56.1 after 61.7 in January and that of employment fell to 48.5, the lowest in a year and a half, against 52.3 a month earlier.
This first contraction in employment in services observed since January 2021 could be explained by labor shortages.
The sub-index of prices paid by companies rose to 83.1 after 82.3.
(Report Lucia Mutikani, French version Marc Angrand)
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