• Up from 56.1 in December
  • Employment unch at 54.1 vs 55.2 in Dec
  • Composite 56.2 vs 56.0 flash and 56.1 in Dec (employment in the comp index fell to 53.9 from 55.0 prior)
  • New business 56.4 vs 57.9 in Dec
US Markit services PMI f 05 02 2014

Chris Williamson at Markit expects non farm payrolls to bounce back to the 200k mark

“Markit’s PMI surveys indicate that US business enjoyed a strong start to 2014. Despite disruptions caused by record low temperatures in parts of the country, business activity rose strongly again in both manufacturing and services. The full picture from the two surveys is one of growth weakening only very marginally in January despite the big freeze, setting the scene for another quarter of at least 3% growth. The pace of hiring ticked down slightly, but remains resilient as firms report the brightest business outlook for three years. The January survey is signalled service sector payroll growth of around 180,000 on top of a 10,000 rise in manufacturing. We’d therefore expected to see monthly non-farm payroll growth revert back to around 200,000.”

US Markit services PMI flash vs final 05 02 2014

US Markit services PMI flash vs final 05 02 2014