According to the Institute for Supply Management, economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in August for the 79th consecutive month.

Anthony Nieves, the chair of the ISM’s non-manufacturing business survey committee, said the NMI came in at 51.4% in August, 4.1 percentage points lower than July’s reading (55.5%). Despite the drop, Nieves noted that the reading indicated growth in the sector, just at a slower rate.

In addition, the non-manufacturing business activity index took a 7.5% drop, falling to 51.8% in August from 59.3% in July. Although Nieves marked that as a substantial decrease, it still reflects growth for the 85th consecutive growth.

The new orders index also fell by a considerable amount, registering at 51.4%, down 8.9% from the 60.3% recorded in July.

Meanwhile, the employment index and prices index both slipped slightly, falling 0.7% and 0.1%, respectively.

According to the NMI, 11 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in August, including utilities, real estate, rental and leasing as well as finance and insurance. Agriculture, forestry, transportation and wholesale trade were among the seven sectors that reported contraction.