(Tempe, Arizona) — Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in July for the 31st consecutive month, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.
The report was issued today by Anthony Nieves, C.P.M., CFPM, chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The NMI registered 52.6 percent in July, 0.5 percentage point higher than the 52.1 percent registered in June.
If you remember from the Richmond services I said that the ISM Services would likely come in around 51, maybe 52. This is a bit higher than I expected, but not crazily so. Let's look inside.
Services activity and new orders were up, which is interesting; production registered 57.2, a major increase from 51.7 last month. But -- employment went into contraction at 49.3 from 52.3.
Do service providers smell something burning? It would appear so, from the employment number.
Let's keep an eye on those Fed Surveys -- we've got a clear recessionary indication out of them thus far, so this month the key will be to watch those indicators and see if there's a potential for a false alarm or if they continue to confirm a weakening trend.
