Service Industries in U.S. Grew at Slower Pace in September

U.S. service industries expanded in September at a slower pace than a month earlier, a sign the recovery is struggling to gain speed.

The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index fell to 53 from 53.3 in August. The median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a drop to 52.8. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction in services, which cover about 90 percent of the economy. Orders picked up, the report showed.