(Bloomberg.) U.S. services providers grew at a record rate in November, as strong consumer demand drove an additional strengthening of business activity and kept orders steady.

The Institute for Supply Management’s services index advanced to 69.1 last month from 66.7 in October, data showed Friday. Indicators above 50 indicate growth. The November print exceeded all projections according to a Bloomberg poll of economists.

Americans enjoy rapid wage increases and have a large savings account. This gives them the financial resources and desire to purchase services. ISM’s gauge of business activity advanced to a fresh record as the new orders index held at a record high in data back to 1997.

The 18 major service industries saw growth, including real estate, transport and warehousing and retail trade.

“Demand continues to outpace supply that has been impacted by capacity constraints, shortages of labor and materials, and logistical challenges,”  Anthony Nieves, chair of the ISM services business survey committee, said in a statement. “This has also caused demand-pull inflation that is affecting overall business conditions.”

Although these gauges based on demand continued to report faster growth, there were other indicators that suggested supply constraint may be beginning to ease. An indicator of order backlogs declined from an all-time high and the employment index rose almost 5 points to 56.5. It is its highest reading since April.

Similar developments emerged earlier in the week with the ISM’s manufacturing survey. Inflation pressures could be cooled by sustained relief from the current shortage of capacity across all industries.

The ISM’s measure of prices paid by service providers edged down in November to 82.3 from the highest level since September 2005.

Still, the group’s index of supplier delivery times held at the second-highest on record, indicating delays are still well-extended.

(ISM Comment Added)

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