The U.S. services sector shrank for a second month in May as the coronavirus pandemic triggered shutdowns and layoffs around the country.
Activity did rise from levels last month that had not been seen since the recession.
The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its service sector index stood at 45.4 last month, up slightly from an April reading of 41.8.
FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2019, file photo Dan Villegas stocks items in preparation for a holiday sale at a Walmart Supercenter in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, issues its index of non-manufacturing activity for December. (AP PhotoJohn Locher, File)
Any reading below 50 signals that the service sector, where the majority of Americans work, is in contraction. The April decline broke a string of more than 10 years of expansion in the services sector.
The continued contraction in service industries followed a similar pattern in the industrial sector. The ISM reported earlier this week that manufacturing activity remained in contraction territory in May, with a reading of 43.1, up slightly after registering 41.5 in April.
FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2019 file photo, barista Porter Hahn makes an iced coffee drink for a customer in a coffee shop in Seattle. U.S. services companies grew at a faster pace in February 2020 than the previous month, an indication that the economy is still expanding, despite growing concerns about global coronavirus outbreak. The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday, March 4, 2020 that its service-sector index rose to 57.3 from 55.5 in January. (AP PhotoElaine Thompson, File)