The ISM Services Index registered 61.9% in September; 0.2 percentage points higher than the August reading of 61.7%. This reading represents the sixteenth straight month of growth for the services sector, which has expanded for all but two of the last 140 months.
Seventeen non-manufacturing industries reported growth. Survey respondents noted “Transportation bottlenecks are increasing, resulting in longer lead times and missed appointments.”
The Business Activity Index registered 62.3% in August, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from the August reading of 60.1%. This represents growth for the sixteenth consecutive month.
Service sector employment grew in September for the third month, and registered 53.0% in September, 0.7% lower than July. Fourteen industries reported growth in employment for the month.
The New Orders Index was 63.5%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the August reading of 63.2%. Comments from respondents include: “New customers added, which has led to greater sales orders and business activity” and “New orders have increased due to pent-up demand coming online.”
The supplier deliveries index registered 68.8% in September, which is 0.8 percentage points lower than the 69.6% reported in August. A reading above 50% indicates slower deliveries.
Read the ISM release.
