Non-Manufacturing Grows Slower In May

ByJohn S. McClenahen Virtually no one expected the non-manufacturing sector of the U.S. to repeat its April record pace in May. And it did not. Business activity in non-manufacturing, which includes mining, utilities, financial services and transportation services, slowed to an index level of 65.2% in May from 68.4% in April, the Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management reported June 3. A figure above 50% indicates the non-manufacturing sector generally is expanding; a figure below 50% suggests that it is contracting. New orders in the sector were down by more than four percentage points in May, but employment in non-manufacturing increased by nearly two percentage points and recorded its eighth consecutive monthly expansion.