WASHINGTON, Nov 6, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US services sector activity grew for a fourth straight month in October, survey data showed Tuesday, boosted by areas like employment ahead of the year-end holiday season.

The data also showed an uptick in activity from September, to the highest since July 2022, as the world's biggest economy remained resilient while businesses braced for the results of Tuesday's US presidential election.

The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) services index edged up to 56 percent in October, rising from 54.9 percent in September and signaling the sector is still in expansion.

The increase was driven by boosts from the employment and supplier deliveries indices, said ISM survey chair Steve Miller.

"Concerns over political uncertainty were again more prevalent than the previous month," Miller said.

US voters headed to polling stations Tuesday to cast a ballot for Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris -- with the outcome potentially swaying the country's economic and trade policy.

"Impacts from hurricanes and ports labor turbulence were mentioned frequently, although several panelists mentioned that the longshoremen's strike had less of an impact than feared due to its short duration," Miller added.

He also noted that while business activity and new orders remained positive, both indices slid at least two percentage points.

But employment activity grew for the third time in four months, with respondents indicating they were hiring seasonal labor for holiday peak activity.

"The level of the index is consistent with our view that consumer spending, including on services, will continue at a brisk pace," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics.

She added that although election uncertainty weighs on sentiment, "there is room for further improvement in the index once the outcome of the election is known."