China’s services sector remains strong, boosted by first employment increase since January
- The Caixin/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which focuses on smaller, private firms, fell slightly to 54.0 in August from 54.1 in July
- The official non-manufacturing PMI, released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, was 55.2 for August, up from 54.2 in July
China’s coronavirus recovery continued as services sector activity remained strong in August, with employment levels increasing for the first time since January, a private survey showed on Thursday.
A reading above 50.0 indicates growth in sector activity, while a reading below indicates contraction.
“The Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index came in at 54 in August, almost the same as the previous month‘s 54.1. The ongoing resumption of work and normalisation of market demand continued to promote the post-epidemic economic recovery,” said Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group.
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What is the purchasing managers' index (PMI)?
China’s official manufacturing PMI, meanwhile, fell slightly to 51.0 in August. This was below analysts’ expectations, with the median result of a Bloomberg survey predicting it would stay unchanged from July at 51.1.
