A service sector employee sits at his desk. (Photo: REUTERS)
The Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI), a closely-watched gauge of service sector growth by the Institute for Supply Management, posted the highest reading since October 2015. The NMI came in at 57.6%, which is 1.1% higher than the 56% reading in January and representative of continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector only at a faster rate.
The 16 non-manufacturing industries reporting growth in February — listed in order — are: Utilities; Mining; Management of Companies & Support Services; Other Services; Accommodation & Food Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Finance & Insurance; Public Administration; Educational Services; Wholesale Trade; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Retail Trade; Transportation & Warehousing; and Construction. The two industries reporting contraction in February are: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; and Information.
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| ISM® NON-MANUFACTURING SURVEY RESULTS AT A GLANCE COMPARISON OF ISM® NON-MANUFACTURING AND ISM® MANUFACTURING SURVEYS* FEBRUARY 2017 |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Manufacturing | Manufacturing | ||||||||
| Index | Series Index Feb |
Series Index Jan |
Percent Point Change |
Direction | Rate of Change |
Trend** (Months) |
Series Index Feb |
Series Index Jan |
Percent Point Change |
| NMI®/PMI® | 57.6 | 56.5 | +1.1 | Growing | Faster | 86 | 57.7 | 56.0 | +1.7 |
| Business Activity/Production | 63.6 | 60.3 | +3.3 | Growing | Faster | 91 | 62.9 | 61.4 | +1.5 |
| New Orders | 61.2 | 58.6 | +2.6 | Growing | Faster | 91 | 65.1 | 60.4 | +4.7 |
| Employment | 55.2 | 54.7 | +0.5 | Growing | Faster | 36 | 54.2 | 56.1 | -1.9 |
| Supplier Deliveries | 50.5 | 52.5 | -2.0 | Slowing | Slower | 14 | 54.8 | 53.6 | +1.2 |
| Inventories | 52.0 | 48.0 | +4.0 | Growing | From Contracting | 1 | 51.5 | 48.5 | +3.0 |
| Prices | 57.7 | 59.0 | -1.3 | Increasing | Slower | 11 | 68.0 | 69.0 | -1.0 |
| Backlog of Orders | 54.0 | 50.0 | +4.0 | Growing | From Unchanged | 1 | 57.0 | 49.5 | +7.5 |
| New Export Orders | 57.0 | 48.0 | +9.0 | Growing | From Contracting | 1 | 55.0 | 54.5 | +0.5 |
| Imports | 51.0 | 54.0 | -3.0 | Growing | Slower | 2 | 54.0 | 50.0 | +4.0 |
| Inventory Sentiment | 64.5 | 62.0 | +2.5 | Too High | Faster | 237 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Customers’ Inventories | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47.5 | 48.5 | -1.0 |
| Overall Economy | Growing | Faster | 91 | ||||||
| Non-Manufacturing Sector | Growing | Faster | 86 | ||||||
* 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.
** Number of months moving in current direction.
