Service Industries Unexpectedly Grew at Slower Pace in June

Service industries in the U.S. unexpectedly expanded in June at the slowest pace in more than three years, indicating widespread progress may elude the world’s largest economy even as manufacturing improves.

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index dropped to 52.2 last month, the lowest reading since February 2010, from 53.7 in May, a report from the Tempe, Arizona-based group showed today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a rise to 54. A reading greater than 50 indicates expansion in the industries that make up almost 90 percent of the economy.