Growth in America's services sector bounced back in November.
Markit Economics' flash services purchasing manager's index (PMI) was 56.5 in October, a seven-month high, beating the expectation for 55.
The report for October showed that overall service-sector activity growth slowed to a four-month low.
But in November, new-business growth helped lift the sector, even as the outlook for future activity remained relatively dim.
The services sector remains comparatively a lot more resilient than manufacturing.
The flash PMI indicates "the economy is on course to grow by just over 2% again in the fourth quarter, providing additional reassurance on the strength of the economy after yesterday's GDP revision," said Markit's Chris Williamson in the release.
Payrolls, and the pace of jobs creation, continued to be strong in the services sector. Input-cost inflation remained low and below the average since the survey began late in 2009.
