U.S. manufacturing sector slows in January; employment rises - ISM
Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! Finance
Reuters
U.S. manufacturing sector slows in January; employment rises - ISM
Tue, February 1, 2022, 10:05 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A measure of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a 14-month low in January amid an outbreak of COVID-19 infections, supporting views that economic growth lost steam at the start of the year.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday that its index of national factory activity dropped to a reading of 57.6 last month. That was the lowest reading since November 2020 and followed 58.8 in December.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing, which accounts for 11.9% of the U.S. economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index dropping to 57.5.
The economy hit a soft patch in December, which appeared to have persisted into early 2022 as coronavirus infections, driven by the Omicron variant, raged across the country. The ensuing disruptions at businesses and schools have led economists to anticipate a sharp slowdown in job growth in January.
{snip}
Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-manufacturing-sector-slows-january-150503841.html