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Economy · October 6, 2026 · 2 min read

ISM services PMI slips to 54.9 in September as prices index hits 74, highest since July 2022

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published October 6, 2026 • Updated October 6, 2026

Reviewed by Independent verification against ISM's full September 2026 Services PMI release text (PR Newswire)

The Institute for Supply Management says its Services PMI was 54.9 percent in September, down 0.5 point from August. The Prices Index rose to 74 percent, its highest since July 2022, and the Employment Index returned to 50.1.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its Services PMI registered 54.9 percent in September 2026, the 27th straight month in expansion territory. The figures below come from ISM's release of October 5, 2026, 10:00 a.m. ET. A reading above 50 means the services sector grew. Headline and main indexes (September, with the change from August): - Services PMI: 54.9 percent, down 0.5 point from 55.4. It is 0.8 point above its 12-month average of 54.1. - Business Activity: 56.5 percent, down 5.2 points from 61.7. - New Orders: 59.8 percent, down 1.1 points from 60.9. - Employment: 50.1 percent, up 2.3 points from 47.8. It is the first reading above 50 in three months. - Supplier Deliveries: 53.2 percent, up 1.9 points from 51.3. A reading above 50 means slower deliveries. - Prices: 74 percent, up 1.4 points from 72.6. ISM says that is the highest since July 2022 (74.5 percent) and the sixth reading above 70 in seven months. - New Export Orders: 46.9 percent, down 9.4 points from 56.3, the first reading below 50 in eight months. - Backlog of Orders: 56.6 percent, up 1 point from 55.6. Industries: ISM says 13 industries reported growth in September, one more than in August, and four reported contraction: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting; Mining; Construction; and Management of Companies and Support Services. What respondents cited: ISM says tariffs and fuel costs were the most cited supply chain issues, and fuel costs were mentioned twice as often as any other single issue. Fuel was reported up in price for an eighth month in a row, and memory products for a ninth. What this does not tell you: the PMI is a diffusion index from a survey of purchasing executives, not a measure of output in dollars. We did not compare it with market forecasts here. Source: Institute for Supply Management, September 2026 Services PMI Report, distributed by PR Newswire on October 5, 2026. We read the release text; we did not open ismworld.org directly.

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