Off the wire
• China police apprehend 847 telecom fraud suspects  • Hollande calls for dialogue to fix Greek debt crisis  • Lithuania moves forward with creating joint military brigade with Poland, Ukraine  • Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Jan. 4  • Latest opinion poll shows close election race ahead in Spain  • China's largest nuclear power base generates record electricity  • China, Argentina pledge closer comprehensive strategic partnership  • Lithuania raises terror threat level  • Lung cancer now kills more women than breast cancer in rich countries: report  • Spanish Football League President defends Barca President Bartomeu  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. service sector keeps expanding in January

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Economic activity in the U.S. service sector continued expanding in January, indicating the economy is on track for solid growth, an industry survey showed on Wednesday.

The Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI), which measures activity in the U.S. service sector, rose to 56.7 percent in January, 0.2 percentage point higher than December's reading of 56.5 percent, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said in its monthly survey.

The NMI survey covers all sectors outside of manufacturing. A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion of the service sector.

The new orders component of the index, a signal of future business, edged up 0.3 percentage point to 59.5 percent. The component of employment and price decreased.

Eight industries tracked by the ISM reported growth while eight reported contraction.

The NMI index is closely watched because the service sector absorbs about 90 percent of the U.S. workforce, and is a key indicator for the overall health of the economic recovery. Endite