REUTERS/John Gress
Workers dye the Chicago River green as part of the city's annual St. Patrick's day celebrations in Chicago.
The Chicago purchasing managers index jumped to a12-month high of 66.2 in October, up from 60.5 in September.
This smashed expectations for a 60.0 reading.
"The bounceback in the Barometer marks a solid start to Q4 and suggests that against a backdrop of concerns about weakening growth in Europe and China, the US economy is still growing firmly," ISM- Chicago said in its release.
"Concerns about the global economy and the continued low level of inflationary pressures may persuade the Fed to keep rates lower for longer, but the domestic economy is growing healthily," MNI Indicators' Philip Uglow said.