After tons of economic reports over the last few weeks coming in weaker than expected, it was a nice to see the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index beat expectations with a reading of 53.7 vs. last month's 53.5 and the consensus for 53.5.
The report showed slower employment growth (no surprise after the recent employment situation reports and weekly jobless claims saying the same thing).
But what was a surprise was the increase in new orders. Also of note was an increase in backlogged orders as well.
On the downside, the report showed a drop in exports. Although, that too was no real surprise.
But with business activity up over a wide range of categories and the monthly growth rate increasing, this bodes well for another positive report next month. And overall, this is good news for the economy, especially since the service sector makes up the largest part of our economy.
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