The U.S. manufacturing sector finished 2024 in a prolonged slump as prices accelerated and employment cooled. A new survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) found that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to a nine-month high of 49.3 in December, up from 48.4 in November. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction. The monthly purchasing managers’ index—a gauge of the industry’s prevailing economic direction—has been stuck in recession territory every month since November 2022, except in March 2024. Timothy Fiore, head of the ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, says the improvement was driven by strengthening demand. “U.S. manufacturing activity contracted again in December, but at a slower rate compared to November,” Fiore said in the report. “Demand showed signs of improving, while output stabilized and inputs stayed accommodative.”…