by Calculated Risk on 3/03/2021 10:13:00 AM

(Posted with permission). The February ISM® Services index was at 55.3%, down from 58.7% last month. The employment index decreased to 52.7%, from 55.2%. Note: Above 50 indicates expansion, below 50 contraction.

From the Institute for Supply Management®: February 2021 Services ISM® Report On Business®

Economic activity in the services sector grew in February for the ninth 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 55.3 percent, 3.4 percentage points lower than the January reading of 58.7 percent. This reading indicates the ninth straight month of growth for the services sector, which has expanded for all but two of the last 133 months.
emphasis added

This was below expectations, and the report showed a decline for the employment index.