by Calculated Risk on 10/05/2021 10:05:00 AM

(Posted with permission). The September ISM® Services index was at 61.9%, up from 61.7% last month. The employment index decreased to 53.0%, from 53.7%. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 contraction.

From the Institute for Supply Management: Services PMI® at 61.9%, September 2021 Services ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the services sector grew in September for the 16th month in a row, say the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Anthony Nieves, CPSM, C.P.M., A.P.P., CFPM, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Services Business Survey Committee: “The Services PMI® registered 61.9 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than the reading of 61.7 percent in August. The September reading indicates the 16th straight month of growth for the services sector, which has expanded for all but two of the last 140 months.

“The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 68.8 percent, down 0.8 percentage point from August’s reading of 69.6 percent. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM® Report On Business® index that is inversed; a reading of above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.) The Prices Index registered 77.5 percent, up 2.1 percentage points from the August figure of 75.4 percent.”

Nieves continues, “According to the Services PMI®, 17 services industries reported growth. The composite index indicated growth for the 16th consecutive month after a two-month contraction in April and May 2020. The slight uptick in the rate of expansion in the month of September continued the current period of strong growth for the services sector. However, ongoing challenges with labor resources, logistics, and materials are affecting the continuity of supply.”
emphasis added

This was above the consensus forecast,  however the employment index decreased slightly to 53.0%, from 53.7% the previous month.