WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly picked up again in May on the back of continued strong demand, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) monthly survey released on Wednesday showed. .
The ISM manufacturing index rose to 56.1 from 55.4 the previous month as economists polled by Reuters expected a slowdown to 54.5, which could ease fears of an impending recession.
The new orders sub-index, on the other hand, fell to 55.1 after 53.5 and that of employment fell to 49.6 after 50.9 in April. This is the first time since August 2021 that the employment component has fallen below the 50 mark which separates growth and contraction in activity.
The price paid component came out at 82.2 after 84.6.
Another survey of manufacturing activity in the United States, that of S&P Global, shows a slight slowdown in growth, the PMI index falling to 57.0 after 57.5 in March.
(Report Lucia Mutikani, French version Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)
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