New Report Shows Strength in the Service Sector

Washington, September 14--The Commerce Department issued a new quarterly survey of service businesses Monday, reporting broad improvement in sales across the sector. The Department's U.S. Census Bureau said revenues climbed in all three categories of the new Quarterly Services Survey, the bureau's first new indicator in almost 40 years. The survey is based on data, including quarterly revenue and customer numbers, collected from 5,000 large companies. The service sector accounts for 55.1% of the nation's gross domestic product. Sales in the information category rose 4.4% to an estimated $230.1 billion in the quarter, after first-quarter revenues fell 5.2%. The information category includes among other business publishing, motion pictures and data processing. Sales in the broadcasting and telecommunications subcategory climbed 4.3% to $127.9 billion in the second quarter. Professional, scientific and technical services climbed 6.3% to $246.1 billion in the second quarter after dipping 0.3% in the first quarter. Industries in the category include accounting, architecture, and computer systems. Architectural revenues climbed 12.9% in the second quarter to $56.6 billion. Revenues in administrative and support and waste management and remediation services climbed 5.6% to $121.9 billion in the second quarter after rising 1.2% in the first quarter. In the past, detailed surveys of service industry output were conducted only once a year. While other gauges that track service sector employment have been useful, they don't measure productivity within the sector. Though the initial focus of the report is on information and technology related service industries, there are plans to gradually expand the survey to include other service sector industries. The Census Bureau plans to expand the survey next year to include hospitals, nursing and assisted living facilities. The survey, which isn't yet seasonally adjusted, has been in the works for more than three years, and will be used to bolster other indicators generated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Commerce Department officials said. The next survey will be released Dec. 14.