By Colin Kellaher

Services activity in the middle of the U.S. continued to expand in January, and expectations for future growth rose, according to a monthly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The Tenth District Services Survey's composite index, a weighted average of indexes covering revenue/sales, employment and inventory, slipped to 14 in January from a reading of 15 in December but remained solidly in expansion territory.

The Kansas City Fed said expectations for future services activity rose to 28 in January from 15 in December.

"Regional services activity continued to hum along in January," said bank economist Chad Wilkerson. "The labor market remains tight, and the expectations index for wages and benefits continues to rise."

The Kansas City Fed's survey includes participants from such service industries as retail and wholesale trade, automobile dealers, real estate and restaurants. The survey provides information on current services activity in the Tenth District, which includes Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, the northern half of New Mexico and the western third of Missouri.

The bank's monthly manufacturing survey, released Thursday, showed that factory activity in the region was down slightly in January, with firms reporting a modest rise in employment.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 24, 2020 11:56 ET (16:56 GMT)