WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. services companies grew last month at the fastest pace in nearly a year, potential good news for the U.S. economy.
The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its services index jumped to 57.1 in September, the highest point since October, from August’s 51.4, the lowest since 2010. It was the biggest monthly gain since the index was introduced in 2008. Any reading above 50 signals growth.
New orders, production and export orders all grew faster last month, and hiring by services companies was the strongest since October.
“August’s drop was a fluke,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a research note. He noted that the August reading might have been warped by flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi.
The ISM is a trade group of purchasing managers. Its services survey covers businesses that employ the vast majority of workers, including retail, health care and financial companies.