Economy

ISM Non-Manufacturing Report on Business: Service Sector Growth Tops Views

(PHOTO: REUTERS)

The Non-Manufacturing Report on Business, the Institute for Supply Management’s gauge of service-sector growth, increased to 55.7 last month from 54.5 in March. The reading also topped the expectation for a reading of 54.7.

Readings above 50 in the NMI indicate expansion, while those below point to contraction.

The Business Activity Index in April registered 58.8%, a decrease of 1 percentage point from March’s reading of 59.8%. However, this marks growth in business activity for the 81st consecutive month. Employment activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in April for the second consecutive month, up 2.7% to 53.

Non-Manufacturing Sector Industry Performance

The 13 non-manufacturing industries reporting growth in April — listed in order — are: Information; Management of Companies & Support Services; Accommodation & Food Services; Wholesale Trade; Health Care & Social Assistance; Utilities; Finance & Insurance; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Construction; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Public Administration; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; and Retail Trade. The four industries reporting contraction in April are: Other Services; Mining; Transportation & Warehousing; and Educational Services.

ISM^® NON-MANUFACTURING SURVEY RESULTS AT A GLANCE COMPARISON OF ISM^® NON-MANUFACTURING AND ISM^® MANUFACTURING SURVEYS* APRIL 2016
	Non-Manufacturing						Manufacturing
Index	Series Index Apr	Series Index Mar	Percent Point Change	Direction	Rate of Change	Trend** (Months)	Series Index Apr	Series Index Mar	Percent Point Change
NMI^®/PMI^®	55.7	54.5	+1.2	Growing	Faster	75	50.8	51.8	-1.0
Business Activity/Production	58.8	59.8	-1.0	Growing	Slower	81	54.2	55.3	-1.1
New Orders	59.9	56.7	+3.2	Growing	Faster	81	55.8	58.3	-2.5
Employment	53.0	50.3	+2.7	Growing	Faster	2	49.2	48.1	+1.1
Supplier Deliveries	51.0	51.0	0.0	Slowing	Same	4	49.1	50.2	-1.1
Inventories	54.0	52.5	+1.5	Growing	Faster	13	45.5	47.0	-1.5
Prices	53.4	49.1	+4.3	Increasing	From Decreasing	1	59.0	51.5	+7.5
Backlog of Orders	51.5	52.0	-0.5	Growing	Slower	4	50.5	51.0	-0.5
New Export Orders	56.5	58.5	-2.0	Growing	Slower	3	52.5	52.0	+0.5
Imports	54.0	53.0	+1.0	Growing	Faster	3	50.0	49.5	+0.5
Inventory Sentiment	61.0	62.5	-1.5	Too High	Slower	227	N/A	N/A	N/A
Customers’ Inventories	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	46.0	49.0	-3.0
Overall Economy				Growing	Faster	81
Non-Manufacturing Sector				Growing	Faster	75

* 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.

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PPD Business Staff

PPD Business, the economy-reporting arm of People's Pundit Daily, is "making sense of current events." We are a no-holds barred, news reporting pundit of, by, and for the people.