CHICAGO, May 31 (UPI) -- The Chicago Business Barometer showed business growth slowed in May with production breaking even, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday.
With numbers above 50 indicating expansion, the Chicago association's headline business barometer for May, compiled by Kingsbury International Ltd., slipped from 56.2 April to 52.7 in May.
The index covers businesses in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
The production index for the region dropped sharply from 57.1 to an even 50, indicating neither growth nor contraction.
The index for new orders fell from 57.4 to 52.9, the third consecutive month of decline.
The prices paid index fell from 68.6 to 60.4, while the employment index slipped slightly, coming in at 57 from April's level of 58.7.
The index for business inventories fell into a contraction, dropping from 53.9 to 49.4.
