EVANS LAUDS SERVICE SECTOR'S STRONGEST READING ON EMPLOYMENT INDEX IN 6 YEARS
AND RECORD PERFORMANCE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans today praised the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) non-manufacturing index that showed the strongest reading for the employment index since February of 1998 and a record for the overall index: “Our economy is breaking records because of President Bush’s decision to let Americans keep more of the money they earn. With economic growth surging and job creation heating up, it is increasingly clear that tax increases would damage our recovery and destroy jobs. We’re encouraged by the strong performance from our services sector, but President Bush won’t be satisfied until every American seeking work finds a job.”

NOTE: The ISM non-manufacturing index rose to 68.4 in April from 65.8 in March. This was much stronger than forecasters were predicting and a new record for the survey. It also marks the 8th time in the past year the index has remained above the 60% benchmark, indicating a rapid pace of growth in services activity.