U.S. non-manufacturing sector reports slower expansion in November

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. non-manufacturing activity expanded at slower pace in November, as orders and employment cooled from the previous month.

The Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI), which measures activity in the U.S. service sector, dropped 2.7 points from October's reading of 60.1 to 57.4 in November, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said in its monthly survey report on Tuesday.

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

The business activity index edged down 0.8 point to 61.4; the new orders index dropped 4.1 points to 58.7; and the employment index fell 2.2 points to 55.3 in November.

Of the 18 industries tracked by the ISM, 16 industries reported growth, while only agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry reported contraction.

Respondents of the survey said that the economy and sector will continue to grow for the remainder of the year.

A recent report released by the Federal Reserve showed that U.S. economy continued modest to moderate growth pace in October and mid-November, with price pressures building up.

Economic watchers are widely expected the U.S. economy would grow 2.5 percent this year. Enditem