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Growth in the services sector, where most Americans work, slowed sharply in February, with hurdles related to the pandemic hindering growth.
The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its index of service sector activity dropped to a reading of 55.5% in February, down 3.4 percentage points from January, when activity neared a two-year high.
Even with the decline, it was the ninth straight month of growth in the services sector. Any reading above 50 signifies growth.
Economists had expected some rollback from the January high, but the size of the February drop was much bigger than expected, driven by a sharp decline in the new orders index. That fell to 51.9%, down from a January reading of 61.8%. The index readings for business activity and employment also fell from the previous month.