The services sector is still red-hot

A waiter serves green champagne to guests during a St. Patrick's Day reception hosted by President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 17, 2009.

REUTERS/Jason Reed

(Thomson Reuters)
A waiter serves green champagne during a St Patrick's Day reception at the White House

This morning, we got an updated look into the US services sector, and it's still great.

Markit Economics released its services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which came in at 56.1.

Economists had estimated a reading of 55.

In the release, Markit chief economist Chris Williamson wrote: "Although the manufacturing sector has been struggling in the face of weak overseas demand and the stronger dollar, the more domestically-focused service sector clearly continues to fare well amid these headwinds and, due its size, is keeping the economy ticking along at a reasonable, albeit unspectacular, rate."

ISM's non-manufacturing index came in at 59, versus 58.2 expected, and down from 60.3 in July.

The transportation and warehousing industry reported the most growth, and the only one in contraction was mining.

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