US services industry activity accelerated in December, but skyrocketing Covid-19 infections depressed employment, heightening the risk that the economy shed jobs for the first time since the labour market recovery from the pandemic started.
That lifted the index to within striking distance of its 57.3 level in February, before the coronavirus pandemic reached the United States. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index falling to 54.6 in December.
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