Service Sector Expands

Good news on the job front: The service sector expanded in September. This is encouraging in an economic climate in which jobs have been lost. The expansion of the service sector is good news for those on the job hunt, since it indicates that there are some companies ready to hire. The index measuring non-manufacturing jobs moved to 50.9 in September, an improvement over the 48.4 August number.

The sector is considered to be expanding when the index reaches 50. The fact that the index has moved beyond 50 is boosting some morale. This is the second month of expansion, so many are hopeful.

Part of the reason that the service sector is seeing some improvement is due to the fact that the government has been pumping money into some sectors as part of economic stimulus. The money is meant to help with job creation, and there have definitely been some people and companies to benefit from this policy.

However, even so, there is still a long way to go. The U.S. economy is still shedding jobs, and the service sector alone can’t overcome the job losses. But at least the pace continues to slow, and there is a chance that things will improve markedly. Additional firms are paying less and that should help some companies.

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