Manufacturing activity expanded in October at its fastest rate since April 2006, bolstering the view that the economy has returned to sustainable growth and indicating that the job market may be stabilising.

The Institute for Supply Management said on Monday that its manufacturing index grew for the third consecutive month after 18 months of declines. It jumped 3.1 percentage points from September to 55.7 in October, exceeding the median expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg of 53.0. A figure over 50 indicates expansion.