WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. services firms grew last month at the slowest pace since August 2016.
The Institute for Supply Management says its services index slipped in July to 53.9 from June's 57.4. It was the lowest reading since the index registered 51.7 in August 2016. Still, anything above 50 signals growth, and American services companies are on a 91-month winning streak.
Production, new orders, hiring and export orders all grew more slowly in July.
Private service-sector workers - from cashiers to stock brokers to nurses - hold more than 70 percent of American jobs.
Consumer spending on services, which accounts for nearly half of U.S. economic activity, rose at a 1.9 percent annual pace from April through June, the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2016, the Commerce Department reported recently.