Philadelphia-area nonmanufacturing activity continues to grow in August but at slower pace

The Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook Survey, released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Tuesday, revealed the region's business activity in the nonmanufacturing sector continued to improve in August, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous month.

According to the survey, the diffusion index for current general activity fell from 23.7 in July to 17.9 this month, remaining positive for the third consecutive month.

A reading above 0 signals expansion, while a reading below 0 indicates contraction.

According to the report, the new orders index edged down 2 points to 11.6 in August, recording positive reading for the second straight month. Meanwhile, the survey’s indexes for full-time and part-time employment remained negative, coming in at -3 and -5.9 respectively. However, both future activity indexes - the diffusion index for future activity at the firm level (35) and the future regional activity index (19.7) - suggest that the respondents expect overall improvement in nonmanufacturing activity over the next six months. On the price front, the prices paid index was essentially unchanged at 10.1, while the prices received index increased nearly 8 points but remained in negative territory for the fifth consecutive month, at -6.3 in August.