Services PMI® at 49.9%; May 2025 Services ISM® Report On Business®

Business Activity Index at 50%; New Orders Index at 46.4%; Employment Index at 50.7%; Supplier Deliveries Index at 52.5%

TEMPE, Ariz., June 4, 2025 -- Economic activity in the services sector contracted in May, the first time since June 2024, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest Services ISM^® Report On Business^®. The Services PMI^® indicated slight contraction at 49.9 percent, below the 50-percent breakeven point for only the fourth time in 60 months since recovery from the coronavirus pandemic-induced recession began in June 2020.

The report was issued today by Steve Miller, CPSM, CSCP, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management^® (ISM^®) Services Business Survey Committee: "In May, the Services PMI^® registered 49.9 percent, 1.7 percentage points lower than the April figure of 51.6 percent. The Business Activity Index was 'unchanged' in May, registering 50 percent, 3.7 percentage points lower than the 53.7 percent recorded in April. This is the index's first month out of expansion territory since May 2020. The New Orders Index dropped into contraction territory in May, recording a reading of 46.4 percent, a decrease of 5.9 percentage points from the April figure of 52.3 percent. The Employment Index returned to expansion after two months in contraction; the reading of 50.7 percent is 1.7 percentage points higher than the 49 percent recorded in April and is the second straight month-over-month gain.

"The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 52.5 percent, 1.2 percentage points higher than the 51.3 percent recorded in April. This is the sixth consecutive month that the index has been in expansion territory, indicating slower supplier delivery performance. (Supplier Deliveries is the only ISM^® Report On Business^® index that is inversed; a reading of above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, which is typical as the economy improves and customer demand increases.)

"The Prices Index registered 68.7 percent in May, a 3.6-percentage point increase from April's reading of 65.1 percent; the index has elevated 7.8 percentage points in the last two months to reach its highest level since November 2022 (69.4 percent). This is the first time the index has recorded this high of a two-month increase since a 9.2-percentage point gain in February and March 2021. The May reading is also its sixth in a row above 60 percent.

"The Inventories Index returned to contraction territory in May, registering 49.7 percent, a decrease of 3.7 percentage points from April's figure of 53.4 percent. This is the second time the index has contracted in 2025. The Inventory Sentiment Index expanded for the 25th consecutive month, registering 62.9 percent, up 6.8 percentage points from April's figure of 56.1 percent and its highest reading since July 2024 (63.2 percent). The Backlog of Orders Index registered 43.4 percent in May, a 4.6-percentage point decrease from the April figure of 48 percent, indicating contraction for the ninth time in the last 10 months and its lowest reading since August 2023 (41.8 percent).

"Ten industries reported growth in May, down one from the 11 industries reported in April. The Services PMI^® has contracted in only four of the last 60 months dating back to June 2020. The May reading of 49.9 percent is 2.4 percentage points below the 12-month average reading of 52.3 percent."

Miller continues, "May's PMI^® level is not indicative of a severe contraction, but rather uncertainty that is being expressed broadly among ISM Services Business Survey panelists. The average reading of 50.8 percent over the last three months still indicates expansion in that time period, but it is a notable shift of 2 percentage points below its average of 52.8 percent over the previous nine months. The New Orders Index moved into contraction territory for the first time in nearly a year. Tariff impacts are likely elevating prices paid by services sector companies, with the Prices Index hitting its highest level since November 2022, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI indicated that prices had increased 7.1 percent as compared to November 2021. Respondents continued to report difficulty in forecasting and planning due to longer-term tariff uncertainty and frequently cited efforts to delay or minimize ordering until impacts become clearer."

INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE
The 10 services industries reporting growth in May — listed in order — are: Accommodation & Food Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Public Administration; Mining; Utilities; Educational Services; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Information; Health Care & Social Assistance; and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services. The eight industries reporting a contraction in the month of May — listed in order — are: Other Services; Retail Trade; Management of Companies & Support Services; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Finance & Insurance; Construction; Transportation & Warehousing; and Wholesale Trade.

WHAT RESPONDENTS ARE SAYING

• "Tariff variability has thrown residential construction supply chains into chaos. Many items are still manufactured in southeast Asia, and suppliers are beginning to test the waters for increases. Major heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment manufacturers are passing on their cost increases due to higher refrigerant and steel commodity prices. Planning is difficult for community projects that could be scheduled for the next 22 to 30 months." [Construction]
• "Steady, with some signs of growth and opportunity." [Finance & Insurance]
• "Federal budget cuts are affecting purchasing decisions." [Health Care & Social Assistance]
• "Tariffs remain a challenge, as it is not clear what duties apply. The best plan is still to delay decisions to purchase where possible." [Information]
• "Due to the tariffs, we've had had small price increases on our international raw materials, and some suppliers are holding back inventory to cover uncertainties. We've seen some slowdown in the production of new wells, but there has been an increase in restimulation of existing wells." [Mining]
• "Life science startups continue to push forward on clinical trials and market launches. The level of investment grew this month. The impacts of tariffs are being watched but are not driving changes in strategic plans." [Professional, Scientific & Technical Services]
• "The projects are slowly starting to be issued, albeit with a great deal of market uncertainty." [Public Administration]
• "Business is strong. Consumer concerns over tariffs may be driving some demand." [Retail Trade]
• "Tariffs have increased the cost of doing business. It's too early to tell what the lasting impact of this will be. We have tried to budget for the increase, but it has been a moving target. Overall, we are seeing a leveling off in business activity; time will tell if this is temporary or long lasting." [Transportation & Warehousing]
• "Business activity is increasing due to demand for data centers, commercial growth and infrastructure. Residential growth remains flat." [Utilities]

Services ISM^® Report On Business^® data is seasonally adjusted for the Business Activity, New Orders, Employment and Prices indexes. Manufacturing ISM^® Report On Business^® data is seasonally adjusted for New Orders, Production, Employment and Inventories indexes.
*Number of months moving in current direction.

COMMODITIES REPORTED UP/DOWN IN PRICE, AND IN SHORT SUPPLY

Commodities Up in Price
Aluminum; Copper Alloys; Electrical Equipment; Fasteners (2); Labor (54); Lumber*; Office Supplies; Steel Products (5); and Valves.

Commodities Down in Price
Diesel Fuel (3); Gasoline (3); Lumber*; and Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Panels.

Commodities in Short Supply
Labor; and Transformers.

Note: The number of consecutive months the commodity is listed is indicated after each item.
*Indicates both up and down in price.

MAY 2025 SERVICES INDEX SUMMARIES

Services PMI^®
In May, the Services PMI^® registered 49.9 percent, a 1.7-percentage point decrease compared to the April reading of 51.6 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates the services sector economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates it is generally contracting.

A Services PMI^® above 48.6 percent, over time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the May Services PMI^® indicates the overall economy is expanding for the 60th straight month. Miller says, "The past relationship between the Services PMI^® and the overall economy indicates that the Services PMI^® for May (49.9 percent) corresponds to a 0.4-percentage point increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis."

SERVICES PMI^® HISTORY

Business Activity
ISM^®'s Business Activity Index registered an "unchanged" reading of 50 percent in May, 3.7 percentage points lower than the 53.7 percent recorded in April. Prior to the May reading, the Business Activity Index had been in expansion territory for 59 consecutive months since its coronavirus pandemic lows. Comments from respondents include: "Sales are down, but construction has remained steady for now" and "Customers are worried about high increases in tariffs, hence, there was a rush to beat the tariffs."

The 12 industries reporting an increase in business activity for the month of May (two more than in April) — listed in order — are: Mining; Accommodation & Food Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Educational Services; Transportation & Warehousing; Utilities; Public Administration; Health Care & Social Assistance; Finance & Insurance; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Information; and Wholesale Trade. The three industries reporting a decrease in business activity for the month of May are: Other Services; Construction; and Management of Companies & Support Services.

New Orders
ISM^®'s New Orders Index registered 46.4 percent in May, 5.9 percentage points lower than the reading of 52.3 percent in April. The index contracted for the first time since June 2024 (47.8 percent). Comments from respondents include: "Normal seasonal business, but overall volumes for the year are down" and "While inquiries have been coming, no action has been taken to close deals."

The six industries reporting an increase in new orders for the month of May — listed in order — are: Accommodation & Food Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Public Administration; Educational Services; Utilities; and Information. The seven industries reporting a decrease in new orders for the month of May — listed in order — are: Mining; Management of Companies & Support Services; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Other Services; Wholesale Trade; Retail Trade; and Construction.

Employment
Employment activity in the services sector returned to expansion in May after two consecutive months of contraction. The Employment Index registered 50.7 percent, up 1.7 percentage points from the April figure of 49 percent. Comments from respondents include: "Higher scrutiny is being placed on all jobs that need to be filled, whether it be a new position or backfill for an existing role" and "Taking advantage of large company layoffs to hire or promote highly experienced staff to fill knowledge gaps."

The seven industries reporting an increase in employment in May — listed in order — are: Mining; Accommodation & Food Services; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Utilities; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Construction; and Public Administration. The seven industries reporting a decrease in employment in May — listed in order — are: Finance & Insurance; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Educational Services; Other Services; Retail Trade; Management of Companies & Support Services; and Wholesale Trade.

Supplier Deliveries
In May, the Supplier Deliveries Index indicated slower supplier performance for the sixth month in a row. The index registered 52.5 percent, up 1.2 percentage points from the 51.3 percent recorded in April. A reading above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries, while a reading below 50 percent indicates faster deliveries. Comments from respondents include: "Longer lead times for equipment" and "Suppliers are saying faster deliveries are being enabled by order cancellations."

The 11 industries reporting slower deliveries in May — in the following order — are: Other Services; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Wholesale Trade; Educational Services; Construction; Management of Companies & Support Services; Finance & Insurance; Public Administration; Health Care & Social Assistance; Information; and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services. The two industries reporting faster supplier deliveries for the month of May are: Transportation & Warehousing; and Retail Trade.

Inventories
The Inventories Index dropped into contraction territory for the first time in four months. The reading of 49.7 percent is a 3.7-percentage point decrease compared to the 53.4 percent reported in April. Of the total respondents in May, 47 percent indicated they do not have inventories or do not measure them. Comments from respondents include: "Drawing down inventories for some consumables to delay purchases on some tariffed goods" and "Using existing inventory for sales and not bringing anything inbound."

The seven industries reporting an increase in inventories in May — in the following order — are: Accommodation & Food Services; Mining; Retail Trade; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; Management of Companies & Support Services; and Transportation & Warehousing. The six industries reporting a decrease in inventories in May — listed in order — are: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Educational Services; Construction; Information; Utilities; and Wholesale Trade.

Prices
Prices paid by services organizations for materials and services increased in May for the 96th consecutive month. The Prices Index registered 68.7 percent, 3.6 percentage points higher than the 65.1 percent recorded in April. The May reading is the index's highest since November 2022 (69.4 percent), as well as its sixth straight above 60 percent and the 31st in a row below 70 percent.

Sixteen of the 18 services industries reported an increase in prices paid during the month of May, in the following order: Construction; Retail Trade; Wholesale Trade; Other Services; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Educational Services; Information; Transportation & Warehousing; Utilities; Accommodation & Food Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; Public Administration; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Finance & Insurance; and Management of Companies & Support Services. No industries reported a decrease in prices paid in May.

NOTE: Commodities reported as up in price and down in price are listed in the commodities section of this report.

Backlog of Orders
The ISM^® Services Backlog of Orders Index contracted in May for the third consecutive month. The reading of 43.4 percent is 4.6 percentage points lower than the 48 percent reported in April. Of the total respondents in May, 43 percent indicated they do not measure backlog of orders. Respondent comments include: "As we continue to bring on more capacity to support our business, the backlog level has been steady; over time, it could decrease" and "With new projects difficult to get approved or to start, backlog is decreasing as time marches on."

The five industries reporting an increase in order backlogs in May are: Finance & Insurance; Information; Utilities; Construction; and Educational Services. The seven industries reporting a decrease in order backlogs in May — in the following order — are: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Mining; Retail Trade; Management of Companies & Support Services; Transportation & Warehousing; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; and Wholesale Trade. Six industries reported no change in backlogs in May.

New Export Orders
Orders and requests for services and other non-manufacturing activities to be provided outside of the U.S. by domestically based companies contracted for the third consecutive month in May. The New Export Orders Index registered 48.5 percent, down 0.1 percentage point compared to the April reading of 48.6 percent. Of the total respondents in May, 71 percent indicated they do not perform, or do not separately measure, orders for work outside of the U.S. Respondent comments include: "Moving configuration aspects offshore to avoid tariffs" and "We sell into Canada, and tariffs have reduced those sales to near zero."

The three industries reporting an increase in new export orders in May are: Accommodation & Food Services; Utilities; and Information. The seven industries reporting a decrease in new export orders in May — in the following order — are: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Mining; Educational Services; Wholesale Trade; Transportation & Warehousing; Finance & Insurance; and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services. Eight industries reported no change in exports.

Imports
The Imports Index contracted for the fourth time in the last five months, registering 48.2 percent, 3.9 percentage points higher than the 44.3 percent reported in April. The index has indicated expansion in 24 of the last 33 months. Sixty-nine percent of respondents reported that they do not use, or do not track the use of, imported materials. Respondent comments include: "Ordered extra various equipment and materials, especially steel pipe, to get ahead of tariffs" and "Reduced demand, higher prices."

The two industries reporting an increase in imports for the month of May are: Accommodation & Food Services; and Wholesale Trade. The seven industries reporting a decrease in imports in May — in the following order — are: Transportation & Warehousing; Educational Services; Other Services; Information; Retail Trade; Construction; and Management of Companies & Support Services. Nine industries reported no change in imports in May.

Inventory Sentiment
The ISM^® Services Inventory Sentiment Index indicated that inventories of raw materials were "too high" for the 25th consecutive month in May. The index registered 62.9 percent, an increase of 6.8 percentage points from April's figure of 56.1 percent and its highest level since July 2024 (63.2 percent). This reading indicates that, despite a contraction in the Inventories Index, respondents feel their companies' inventory levels are too high when correlated to business requirements.

The 10 industries reporting sentiment that their inventories were too high in May — listed in order — are: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Mining; Utilities; Construction; Retail Trade; Wholesale Trade; Educational Services; Public Administration; Health Care & Social Assistance; and Information. The three industries reporting feeling that their inventory is too low in May are: Transportation & Warehousing; Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services.

About This Report
DO NOT CONFUSE THIS NATIONAL REPORT with the various regional purchasing reports released across the country. The national report's information reflects the entire U.S., while the regional reports contain primarily regional data from their local vicinities. Also, the information in the regional reports is not used in calculating the results of the national report. The information compiled in this report is for the month of May 2025.

The data presented herein is obtained from a survey of supply executives in the services sector based on information they have collected within their respective organizations. ISM^® makes no representation, other than that stated within this release, regarding the individual company data collection procedures. The data should be compared to all other economic data sources when used in decision-making.

Data and Method of Presentation
The Services ISM^® Report On Business^® (formerly the Non-Manufacturing ISM^® Report On Business^®) is based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives nationwide. Membership of the Services Business Survey Panel (formerly Non-Manufacturing Business Survey Committee) is diversified by NAICS, based on each industry's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP). The Services Business Survey Panel responses are divided into the following NAICS code categories: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting; Mining; Utilities; Construction; Wholesale Trade; Retail Trade; Transportation & Warehousing; Information; Finance & Insurance; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; Professional, Scientific & Technical Services; Management of Companies & Support Services; Educational Services; Health Care & Social Assistance; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; Accommodation & Food Services; Public Administration; and Other Services (services such as Equipment & Machinery Repairing; Promoting or Administering Religious Activities; Grantmaking; Advocacy; and Providing Dry-Cleaning & Laundry Services, Personal Care Services, Death Care Services, Pet Care Services,

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