Updated: 05-Sep-24 10:19 ET

August ISM Non-Manufacturing Index

Updated: 05-Sep-24 10:19 ET

Highlights

• The ISM Services PMI edged up to 51.5% in August (Briefing.com consensus 51.0%) from 51.4% in July.
• The dividing line between expansion and contraction is 50.0%, so the August reading reflects services sector activity expanding at nearly the same pace as July.

Key Factors

• The Business Activity/Production Index fell to 53.3% from 54.5%.
• The New Orders Index rose to 53.0% from 52.4%.
• The Employment Index dropped to 50.2% from 51.1%.
• The Prices Index increased to 57.3% from 57.0%.
• The Suppliers Deliveries Index bumped up to 49.6% from 47.6%.
• The Backlog of Orders Index decreased to 43.7% from 50.6%.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that overall activity in the largest sector of the U.S. economy remains in an expansion mode, which is what the market, worried about a possible hard landing, wants to see. Slow to moderate growth, the report said, was noted across many industries.

Category	AUG	JUL	JUN	MAY	APR
Non-Manufacturing ISM index	51.5	51.4	48.8	53.8	49.4
Business Activity	53.3	54.5	49.6	61.2	50.9
New Orders	53.0	52.4	47.3	54.1	52.2
Employment	50.2	51.1	46.1	47.1	45.9
Deliveries (nsa)	49.6	47.6	52.2	52.7	48.5
Inventories (nsa)	52.9	49.8	42.9	52.1	53.7
Exports (nsa)	50.9	58.5	51.7	61.8	47.9
Imports (nsa)	50.3	53.3	44.0	42.8	53.6
Prices Paid	57.3	57.0	56.3	58.1	59.2