U.S. services sector shrinks again in March
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Business activity in the U.S. services sector shrank for a sixth straight month in March as cash-strapped consumers cut back on purchases and the employment outlook deteriorated further, according to a report on Friday.
The Institute for Supply Management's services index dropped to 40.8 last month from 41.6 in February. Economists had forecast a slight rise to 42.0 in the index, where any reading below 50 denotes contraction.
The services sector represents about 80 percent of U.S. economic activity, including businesses like banks, airlines, hotels and restaurants.
(Reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
