The employment index also dropped for the month
The Purchasing Managers Index fell to 48.8 for September, down from 50.9 in August, and below the index’s 50-point benchmark that indicates growth.
There was slower growth in production, and the employment index also dropped for the month.
“We must reinforce that there is no current indication of a decline in overall Inland Empire economy,” said a statement from the Institute of Applied Research at Cal State San Bernardino, which publishes the report for the region that encompasses Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The PMI reflects economic health in the manufacturing sector and is based on new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and the employment environment.
It was the first month since March that the PMI went below 50. For the overall index, anything above the 50 mark is considered growth in the calculated scale the analysts use.
“It will take three months of the PMI going below 50 before we are going to say the sky is falling,” Barbara Sirotnik, director of the institute, said Thursday.
“From my perspective it’s the volatility of the index,” she said. “We have been so close to the 50 mark; we are varying up and below it. It means the economy is stable and growing very, very slowly.”