MW: Coming up: U.S. service-sector growth in February
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The services side of the U.S. economy has been growing at a pretty good pace for the pace three years and that almost certainly held true in February. The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing survey is forecast to hold steady at 55.2%, matching the number for January, according to economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The report comes out at 10 a.m. Eastern; any number above 50 signals expansion. The ISM's services index has topped the 50% mark for 38 months in a row and it's hewed closely to 55% for the past six months. The employment gauge, meanwhile, jumped to 57.5% in January to mark the highest level since early 2006. Some 86% of U.S. workers are employed by service-oriented companies that operate in field such as education, health care, retail, finance and hospitality.
