CSBJ Daily

The Associated Press

The nation’s service economy unexpectedly expanded during April after contracting for the previous three months.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index of the service sector released Monday showed a better-than-expected reading of 52 for April, up from 49.6 during March.

Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Financial/IFR had expected a reading of 49.3.

A reading above 50 indicates the sector is growing, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Analysts said that the construction and real estate industries showed modest improvement.

The services sector accounts for almost 70 percent of the nation’s economy, but the report contrasts with recent economic indicators suggesting weakness, such as declining auto sales, chain store sales and employment data.