Slackening Services Raise Concern of U.S. Job Slump: Economy

Service industries in the U.S. grew at a slower pace than forecast in February as employment slumped by the most in more than five years, showing frigid temperatures have caused the economy to struggle.

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index fell to 51.6, lower than any forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and the weakest since February 2010, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. A report from the ADP Research Institute also showed companies added fewer workers than projected last month.