Economic activity in the US services sector expanded in May for a fifth consecutive month, but its rate of growth slowed down, according to a report released Monday by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
The ISM’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), also known as the ISM services PMI, came in at 50.3% — 1.6 percentage points lower than the reading in April of 51.9%.
Analysts expected the index, which indicates the overall economic condition of the services sector, to post a 51.8% reading.
A reading above 50 indicates growth and below that shows contraction.
The US services sector has grown in 35 of the last 36 months, with the lone contraction in December, according to the ISM. The index hit an all-time high of 69.1% in November 2021.
“Eleven industries reported growth in May,” ISM Chair Anthony Nieves said in the report, adding: “There has been a pullback in the rate of growth for the services sector … there are concerns relative to the slowing economy.”
“This is due mostly to the decrease in employment and continued improvements in delivery times and capacity, which are in many ways a product of sluggish demand,” he said.
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