US manufacturing activity shrank in September for the first time in eight months, a closely watched industry survey showed this afternoon.
The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index fell to 49.5 points in September from 50.5 the previous month. A reading below 50 signals contraction.
'Stagnant and sluggish are apt descriptions for manufacturing at this time,' said Norbert Ore, chairman of the ISM survey.
Meanwhile, the number of job cuts announced by US employers dropped by over 40% in September from a month earlier to a 22-month low of 70,057, an industry survey showed today.
Job cuts were down 72% from September last year, when firms announced a record 248,332 job reductions in the immediate aftermath of September 11, said the survey compiled for recruitment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
The firm's chief executive, John Challenger, said the 70,000 figure was still much higher than the monthly average recorded during the recession and recovery period in 1990 and 1991.
