Private-Sector Output Growth Hits 4-Month High But Price Pressures Rise, S&P Survey Shows

02:50 PM EST, 11/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US private-sector output growth hit a four-month high in November led by services, though price pressures also intensified, according to S&P Global's (SPGI) flash purchasing managers' index released Friday.

The composite output index edged higher to 54.8 this month from 54.6 in October, rising for a second straight month, the data provider said. The consensus was for a 54.5 reading in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction.

The gauge for services activity reached a four-month high of 55 from 54.8, while the manufacturing PMI hit a four-month low of 51.9 from 52.5. Wall Street was looking for readings of 54.6 and 52, respectively.

"The flash PMI data point to a relatively buoyant US economy in November, signaling annualized (gross domestic product) growth of about 2.5% so far in the fourth quarter," S&P Global Market Intelligence Chief Business Economist Chris Williamson said. "The upturn also looks encouragingly broad-based for now, with output rising across both manufacturing and the vast services economy."

The S&P survey for November showed the largest increase in new business recorded so far this year, though the rate of job creation was "only modest," mainly because of cost concerns. Input costs grew at one of the fastest rates seen over the last three years, leading to a reacceleration of selling price inflation, largely due to tariffs, according to the report.

The year-ahead business outlook saw a "marked uplift" this month, Williamson said. "Hopes for further interest rate cuts and the ending of the government shutdown have boosted optimism alongside a broader undercurrent of improved economic optimism and reduced concerns over the political environment."

Still, manufacturers were concerned about new orders growth easing and a record increase in finished goods stock, which could lead to a slowdown in factory production expansion in months ahead, according to Williamson.

"Furthermore, although jobs continued to be created in November, the rate of hiring continues to be constrained by worries over costs, in turn linked to tariffs," he said. "Both input costs and selling prices rose at increased rates in November, which will be of concern to the inflation hawks."

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