by Calculated Risk on 9/06/2023 10:00:00 AM

(Posted with permission). The ISM® Services index was at 54.5%, up from 52.7% last month. The employment index increased to 54.7%, from 50.7%. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 in contraction.

From the Institute for Supply Management: Services PMI® at 54.5% August 2023 Services ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the services sector expanded in August for the eighth consecutive month as the Services PMI® registered 54.5 percent, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report On Business®. The sector has grown in 38 of the last 39 months, with the lone contraction in December of last year.

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: “In August, the Services PMI® registered 54.5 percent, 1.8 percentage points higher than July’s reading of 52.7 percent. The composite index indicated growth in August for the eighth consecutive month after a reading of 49.2 percent in December, which was the first contraction since June 2020 (45.4 percent). The Business Activity Index registered 57.3 percent, a 0.2-percentage point increase compared to the reading of 57.1 percent in July. The New Orders Index expanded in August for the eighth consecutive month after contracting in December for the first time since May 2020; the figure of 57.5 percent is 2.5 percentage points higher than the July reading of 55 percent.
emphasis added

The PMI was above expectations.