For the first time in almost five years, the nation’s services sector — including restaurants, travel, banking, construction and retail — contracted in January, stoking rising worries of a recession.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of service sector business activity declined to 44.6 in January from a revised reading of 54.4 in December.
Some economists agree, and undoubtedly, so do the nearly 1.3 million unemployed workers who face losing an average $282 a week in benefits before June.
