ACTIVITY in China’s services sector recovered slightly in August, a government survey showed yesterday, suggesting the sector remains relatively resilient compared to the manufacturing sector.

    The official non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 54.4 from a six-month low of 54.2 in July, said the National Bureau of Statistics.

    The official PMI showed rising new export orders in the services sector, but a cooling property sector remained a drag.

    The sub-index of new export orders rose to 51.6 in August from 49.8 in July, but the sub-index for overall new orders fell to 50 from 50.7 in July, partly due to depressed activity in sectors related to property, according to the survey.

    A reading above 50 in PMI surveys indicates an expansion in activity while one below the threshold points to a contraction.

    The sub-index measuring the number of people working in the service sector edged up to 49.6 in August from 49.3 in July, still indicating a slight contraction in employment.

    The services sector, which covers everything from e-commerce firms, banks and retailers to fitness centers, has weathered the global slowdown much better than the factory sector.

    The services sector made up 46.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, surpassing the secondary sector — manufacturing and construction — for the first time.

    Services overtook manufacturing as China’s biggest employer in 2011.

    A private survey also showed yesterday that China’s services sector expanded at the strongest pace in 17 months in August as new business rebounded after a sharp slowdown in July.

    The services PMI compiled by HSBC/Markit jumped to 54.1 in August — the strongest reading since March 2013 — from a nine-year low of 50 in July.

    Recent data showed the world’s second-largest economy is losing steam as a slowdown in the property sector appears to be deepening, putting pressures on the government to roll out fresh policy stimulus measures to support growth.

    Activity in China’s vast factory sector cooled in August as foreign and domestic demand slowed, two surveys showed Monday, spurring new calls for more policy easing to prevent the economy from stumbling once more.

    China’s annual economic growth picked up slightly to 7.5 percent in the second quarter — in line with the official target for the year — from an 18-month low of 7.4 percent in the first quarter — helped by a flurry of policy stimulus measures.

    But hopes that the mild rebound would gain traction were dashed last month when growth in retail sales and fixed asset investment slowed, while money injected into the economy unexpectedly tumbled to a near six-year low.(SD-Agencies)