S&P Global said its flash U.S. Composite PMI index, which tracks the manufacturing and service sectors, dipped to a reading of 50.1 in September from a final reading for August of 50.2. September's result was negligibly above the 50 level that separates expansion and contraction.
The U.S. economy so far this year has defied projections for sliding into a recession that most economists had expected would be triggered by the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate increases aimed at quelling inflation.
The survey's services PMI edged down to an eight-month low of 50.2, fractionally lower than the reading of 50.6 expected by economists in a Reuters poll. S&P's manufacturing PMI ticked higher to 48.9 from 47.9 in August but was still the fifth straight month of contraction. Economists had forecast a manufacturing PMI of 48.0.