WASHINGTON (AP) - A private survey says U.S. services companies grew in January at the slowest rate in nearly two years, as global economic challenges are showing some signs of spreading to consumers.
The Institute for Supply Management said its services index fell to 53.5 last month from 55.8 in December. The January figure was the lowest since February 2014, when it was 52.6. Still, any reading above 50 signals that services firms are expanding.
"It's a little bit of a cooling off," said Anthony Nieves, chair of the ISM non-manufacturing business survey committee. But Nieves stressed, "As long as we're staying above the 50 baseline, things are still going in the right direction."
The U.S. economy is off to a rocky start in 2016. Stocks have plunged. Manufacturing activity fell in January for the fourth consecutive month. U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the final months of 2015. China, Japan, Europe and Brazil face more immediate financial challenges.
Still, the U.S. services sector has been a source of stability amid the turmoil. The ISM index has been expanding for the past six years, its gains dovetailing with the recovery from the recession. An improving services sector has coincided with a healthy dose of hiring, as employers added 292,000 workers to their payrolls in December. The unemployment rate held at 5 percent.