In September, the services sector experienced robust growth for the third month in a row, with the Services PMI rising to 54.9, the highest in a year. Twelve sectors reported growth, including Real Estate and Health Care, while some, like Retail Trade, contracted. Key metrics showed significant gains in Business Activity and New Orders, although Employment and Backlog experienced slight contractions. Looking forward, ISM’s Steve Miller noted potential challenges from port strikes and emphasized monitoring the Retail Trade sector for signs of recovery, which could influence fourth-quarter performance.

Source: https://www.scmr.com/article/ism-reports-services-economy-heads-up-in-august-for-third-consecutive-month-in-september