After a plunge in manufacturing activity, the much bigger services sector showed a surprise, massive slowdown in growth in August, raising new warnings on the economy.
The ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 51.4, the lowest level since February, 2010. The index reports on a much broader swath of the economy than the manufacturing report, and therefore is more concerning if it is signaling a new trend in weakness. The services sector represents about 70 percent of the U.S. economy.
