BEIJING — The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 47.5 in August, down from 53.3 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Aug 31.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

It was the first time the figure fell below the boom-bust line since March last year, said senior NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe.

A breakdown of the data shows that the sub-indexes for sectors including road and air transportation, hotels, catering, culture, sports and entertainment dropped below the boom-bust line.

The sub-index for new orders declined 7.5 percentage points from a month earlier to 42.2, indicating weaker market demand in the non-manufacturing sector.

However, the construction industry recorded strong performances as construction activities picked up, with the sub-index for business activities rising to 60.5 in August, up 3 percentage points from a month earlier.

The data on Aug 31 also shows that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.1 in August, edging down from 50.4 in July.