the numbers a barometer of business conditions at servicestyle companies such as retailers and restaurants fell 34 points in february to a oneyear low of 565 reflecting stillsevere shortages of supplies and labor that are hampering the economy economists polled by the wall street journal had forecast a reading of 61 in the institute for supply management’s services index numbers over 50 are viewed as positive for the economy and anything over 55 is considered exceptional but the index has fallen three straight months a similar ism survey of manufacturers however showed improvement in february big picture omicron disrupted the economy in december and january but cases area falling fast and allowing businesses and consumers to resume normal activities serviceoriented companies that now dominate the us economy have generally fared worse during major viral outbreaks their workers deal directly with customers and their businesses are more affected by government restrictions what’s more the ism report showed that ongoing shortages of materials and labor continue to hold back growth and prevent a full recovery these shortages have also forced business to pay more for supplies and charge customers higher prices in return contributing to the highest us inflation in 40 years the russian war on ukraine and prospect of the federal reserve raising interest rates soon have also added to the uncertainty in the short run market reaction the dow jones industrial average djia and sp 500 index spx index rose in thursday trades