by Calculated Risk on 4/03/2024 10:00:00 AM

(Posted with permission). The ISM® Services index was at 51.4%, down from 52.6% last month. The employment index increased to 48.5%, from 48.0%. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 in contraction.

From the Institute for Supply Management: Services PMI® at 51.4% March 2024 Services ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the services sector expanded in March for the 15th consecutive month as the Services PMI® registered 51.4 percent, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM® Report On Business®. The sector has grown in 45 of the last 46 months, with the lone contraction in December 2022.

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 March, the Services PMI® registered 51.4 percent, 1.2 percentage points lower than February’s reading of 52.6 percent. The composite index indicated growth in March for the 15th consecutive month after a reading of 49 percent in December 2022, which was the first contraction since May 2020 (45.4 percent). The Business Activity Index registered 57.4 percent in March, which is 0.2 percentage point higher than the 57.2 percent recorded in February. The New Orders Index expanded in March for the 15th consecutive month after contracting in December 2022 for the first time since May 2020; the figure of 54.4 percent is 1.7 percentage points lower than the February reading of 56.1 percent. The Employment Index contracted for the third time in four months with a reading of 48.5 percent, a 0.5-percentage point increase compared to the 48 percent recorded in February.
emphasis added

The PMI was below expectations.