Service economy expanded in April
NEW YORK — A trade group says the nation’s service economy unexpectedly expanded in April after contracting for the previous three months.
The Institute for Supply Management’s index of the service sector released today shows a reading of 52 for April.
The data was better than expected. Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR. had expected a reading of 49.3.
Anything above 50 indicates the sector is growing, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The index fell steeply in January to 44.6, its first drop below 50 since March 2003, and was below 50 in February and March.
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