The industries reporting growth in employment in December are: Information; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Transportation & Warehousing; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Retail Trade; and Educational Services. The seven industries reporting a reduction in employment in December are: Health Care & Social Assistance; Accommodation & Food Services; Management of Companies & Support Services; Finance & Insurance; Public Administration; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; and Wholesale Trade.

Supplier Deliveries

Supplier deliveries slowed in December with the index registering 52.5 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries.

The industries reporting slowing in supplier deliveries in December are: Other Services*; Utilities; Transportation & Warehousing; Health Care & Social Assistance; Retail Trade; Information; Educational Services; and Finance & Insurance. The industries reporting faster supplier deliveries in December are: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation: Wholesale Trade; and Public Administration.

Inventories

ISM''s Non-Manufacturing Inventories Index remained the same in December registering 50.5 percent, indicating that inventory levels increased for the second consecutive month in December after contracting during the month of October. Of the total respondents in December, 29 percent indicated they do not have inventories or do not measure them. Comments from members include: """"Not replacing inventory as fast as previously"""" and """"Levels have been increased to support new store.""""

The industries reporting increases in inventories in December are: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Information; Retail Trade; Utilities; and Construction. The industries reporting decreases in inventories in December are: Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Public Administration; Finance & Insurance; Management of Companies & Support Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; and Wholesale Trade.

Prices

Prices paid by non-manufacturing organizations for purchased materials and services increased in December for the 55th consecutive month. ISM''s Non-Manufacturing Prices Index for December registered 72.7 percent, 3.8 percentage points lower than November''s index of 76.5 percent. In December, the percentage of respondents reporting higher prices is 37 percent. The percentage indicating no change in prices paid increased 10 percentage points to 61 percent. The percentage of respondents noting lower prices decreased 1 percentage point to 2 percent.

The industries reporting an increase in prices paid in December are: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Management of Companies & Support Services; Wholesale Trade; Retail Trade; Accommodation & Food Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; Information; Educational Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Public Administration; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Utilities; Finance & Insurance; and Construction. No industry reported a decrease in prices paid. The three industries with prices unchanged in December are: Other Services; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; and Transportation & Warehousing.

Backlog of Orders

ISM''s Non-Manufacturing Backlog of Orders Index contracted in December for the fourth consecutive month, registering 49 percent, 0.5 percentage point higher than the 48.5 percent reported in November. Of the total respondents in December, 39 percent indicated they do not measure backlog of orders.

The industries reporting an increase in order backlogs in December are: Construction; Information; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Health Care & Social Assistance; and Retail Trade. The industries reporting lower backlog of orders in December are: Other Services*; Management of Companies & Support Services; Educational Services; Transportation & Warehousing; Public Administration; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Finance & Insurance; and Wholesale Trade.

New Export Orders

Orders and requests for services and other non-manufacturing activities to be provided outside of the United States by domestically based personnel remained unchanged for the month of December. The New Export Orders Index for December registered 50 percent, compared to November''s index of 55.5 percent. Of the total respondents in December, 70 percent indicated they either do not perform, or do not separately measure, orders for work outside of the United States.

The industries reporting an increase in new export orders in December are: Information; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Finance & Insurance; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; and Retail Trade. The five industries reporting a decrease in export orders are: Other Services*; Transportation & Warehousing; Public Administration; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; and Wholesale Trade.

Imports

The ISM Non-Manufacturing Imports Index increased in December after one month of contraction in November. The index registered 50.5 percent, 1 percentage point higher than November''s index of 49.5 percent. In December, 64 percent of respondents reported that they do not use, or do not track, the use of imported materials.

The two industries reporting an increase in the use of imports in December are: Information and Management of Companies & Support Services. The industries reporting a decrease in imports for the month of December are: Public Administration; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting.

Inventory Sentiment