Off the wire
• Feature: Uganda's unbanked rush for mobile money services  • 1st LD Writethru: Oil prices rise amid geopolitical risk  • U.S. posts hefty bounty on four key IS figures  • Good day for seeds in Madrid as big guns prepare for debut  • Clashes leave 15 injured in Burundi amid protests against president' s third term  • Slovak economy in best shape since financial crisis: FinMin  • Urgent: U.S. stocks tumble following global rout  • Denmark receives 3 bomb threats in one day: media  • Egypt, Spain sign MoU on military cooperation  • Portugal's economic growth forecast revised up  
You are here: 　 Home

U.S. service sector expansion picks up in April

Xinhua, May 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. economic activity in the service sector picked up expansion pace in April, an industry survey showed Tuesday.

The Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI), which measures activity in the country's service sector, registered 57.8 in March, 1.3 points higher than March's reading, 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, went up 1.4 points to 59.2. The component of employment edged up 0.1 point from March to 56.7, and the business activity index increased 4.1 points to 61.6 in April.

The 14 industries tracked by the ISM reported growth while four reported contraction.

The majority of the respondents reported there has been an uptick in business activity due to the improved economic climate and prevailing stability in business conditions, said the report.

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