Washington, May 3 (Xinhua) the expansion of U.S. non manufacturing activities accelerated in April, driven by strong growth in business activity index and new order index, according to a report released by the American Association for supply management on March 3.
Data show that the U.S. non manufacturing activity index in April was 57.5, up from 55.2 in the previous month. If the index is higher than 50, it means the expansion of non manufacturing activities, and lower than 50 means the contraction of non manufacturing activities.
In terms of details, the US Non manufacturing business activity index rose 3.5 points to 62.4; the new order index rose 4.3 points to 63.2, a new record since 2005; and the employment index fell slightly by 0.2 points to 51.4.
According to the report, most of the enterprises surveyed remain optimistic about their business prospects and the economy.
The non manufacturing sector provides about 90% of U.S. non farm jobs, and its trend directly reflects the health of the overall economy and labor market.
However, other recent economic data show that the growth momentum of economic activity in the United States has not been strong since this year. The US manufacturing sector continued to slow down in April as new orders and job growth fell, according to a report released by the association on the 1st.
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