The amounts: A study found that service-based businesses like stores and restaurants grew at the fastest rate in more than two years in October. This is more proof that the U.S. economy is still going strong.
The Institute for Supply Management said that a measure of service businesses went up from 54.9% in September to 56% last month. Not since July 2022 has the number been this high.
People think that numbers over 50% are good for the business.
Most Americans work for service companies like stores, banks, and hospitals, which run the economy.
Someone from an energy company told ISM, “Business is booming, nothing slowing down.” “Business is good,” said another building company boss.
The Wall Street Journal asked economists and found that they thought the number would be 53.7%.
Key details:
- The new-orders index slipped 2 points to a still-high 57.4%.
- The production gauge dipped 2.7 points to 57.2%.
- The employment barometer jumped 5 points to 53%, a 14-month high.
- The prices-paid index, a measure of inflation, fell 1.3 points to 58.1%. This inflation barometer is back at relatively low prepandemic levels.
In the big picture, the services sector of the economy has grown quickly over the past few years, keeping the country out of recession and making up for the longer-lasting drop in the manufacturing sector.
The most recent data shows that the service economy is in great shape, which is good news for a growth that has been going on for four years. The economy might also get a boost from this week’s interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
In the future: “The economy’s growth engine got even better in October, and there is growing hope that the expansion will last until 2025,” said Ben Ayers, a senior economist at Nationwide.
