AlQa'dah 17, 1433, Oct 3, 2012, SPA -- The pace of growth in the massive U.S. service sector accelerated in September due to strength in new orders, though employment growth slowed, an industry report showed Wednesday. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its services index rose to 55.1 last month from 53.7 in August, beating economist forecasts for a slight decrease. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the vast services sector, while a reading below 50 signifies contraction. The report's new-orders index jumped to 57.7 in September from 53.7 the previous month, but growth in employment eased to 51.1 from 53.8. Exports also slowed to 50.5 from 52.0. Services companies—which include agriculture, finance, retail, and hotels—avoided the contraction that hit the manufacturing sector over the summer. The strength in service-sector growth also was in contrast to data from overseas, which showed the decline in euro-zone companies deepened last month, while China's service sector weakened to a nearly two-year low.
