BEIJING — The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 50.6 in September, down from 52.6 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept 30.

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

The construction sector maintained brisk expansion in September, with the sub-index for business activities in the sector reaching 60.2, 3.7 percentage points higher than the August level, according to the NBS.

NBS senior statistician, Zhao Qinghe, cited the business activities sub-index for civil works had reached a four-month high of 61 this month and that the recent policy support has prompted the progress of infrastructure projects and activities in the construction sector.

The service sector was weaker this month as the epidemic and other factors weighed on market activities. The sub-index for business activities declined 3 percentage points from last month to 48.9.

Zhao attributed the decline to tepid performance in consumer service businesses such as retailing, aviation, transportation, hospitality, catering, and resident services.

But the business volume for producer services like postal services, monetary, and financial services maintained fast expansion, he noted.

Service companies remained confident over future business recovery, the data showed. In September, the sub-index for business expectations of the service sector stood at 56.1, and that for postal service, monetary, financial services, and insurance services topped 60.

The data released on Sept 30 also showed that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.1 in September, up from 49.4 in August.