Non-Manufacturing Business Continues to Grow A key measure of business activity was down a bit in June, but still reflected continued economic growth moving into the summer months. The Institute for Supply Management said that economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in June for the 53rd consecutive month, but at a slightly slower rate than it did in May. According to the Institute, the June Non-Manufacturing ISM Report on Business Activity Index stood at 56% in June, which was 0.3 percentage point lower than the May reading of 56.3%. The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 57.5 percent, which is 4.6 percentage points lower than the May reading of 62.1 percent. This reflected growth for the 59th consecutive month, but again at a slower rate. ISM’s New Orders Index registered 61.2 percent, which was a 0.7 percentage point higher than May’s reading of 60.5 percent. The Employment Index increased two percentage points to 54.4 percent from the May reading of 52.4 percent and indicates growth for the fourth consecutive month – this time at a faster rate. It should be noted that any reading over 50 indicates a positive direction of growth, so what we’re seeing here is a slight fluctuation in the rate of growth, rather than a pullback. ISM said that the 14 non-manufacturing industries reporting growth in June include Construction; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Utilities; Management of Companies & Support Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Information; Public Administration; Retail Trade; Transportation & Warehousing; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Wholesale Trade; Finance & Insurance; and Other Services. The four industries reporting contraction in June are: Educational Services; Mining; Accommodation & Food Services; and Health Care & Social Assistance, it said. Copyright Today’s Credit Unions Link: ism.ws #EconomicGrowth #NonManufacturingISM
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 19:16:33 +0000