U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated to a nearly two-year high in August amid a surge in new orders, but employment continued to lag, supporting views that the labor market recovery was losing momentum. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Tuesday its index of national factory activity increased to a reading of 56.0 last month from 54.2 in July. That was the highest level since November 2018 and marked three straight months of growth. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing, which accounts for 11% of the U.S. economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index would rise to 54.5 in August. But the continued improvement in manufacturing is uneven, as the COVID-19 pandemic shifts spending away from equipment used in the services industries such as restaurants and bars to purchases of goods like home electronics. The ISM’s forward-looking new orders sub-index increased to […]