Third, the service sector saw steady recovery, and modern service industry showed good growth momentum.
The tertiary industry continued to grow in the first three quarters. Specifically, in the first three quarters, the value added of information transmission, software and information technology services increased by 19.3%. That of transportation, storage and postal services increased by 15.3%, with an average two-year growth of 17.6% and 6.2% respectively. In September, the service production index increased by 5.2%, a 0.4 percentage point higher than that in August, with an average two-year growth of 5.3%, a 0.9 percentage point higher. In the first eight months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size increased by 25.6% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 10.7%.
In September, the Business Activity Index for Services stood at 52.4%, 7.2 percentage points higher than that in August. Specifically, the Business Activities Index for industries hit hard by the epidemic and floods in August, such as railway transportation, air transportation, accommodation, catering, ecological protection and environment treatment, rebounded significantly to the level above the threshold. From the perspective of market expectations, the Business Activity Expectation Index for services was 58.9%, 1.6 percentage points higher than that in August. Of the total, the Business Activity Expectation Index for sectors like railway transportation, air transportation and express mail service exceeds 65%.
Fourth, market sales continued to grow, with sales of upgraded consumer goods and basic living goods increasing fast.
In the first three quarters, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 31,805.7 billion yuan, up by 16.4% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 3.9%. In September, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,683.3 billion yuan, up by 4.4% year on year, 1.9 percentage points higher than that of August, or an average two-year growth of 3.8%, 2.3 percentage points faster than that in August, and an increase of 0.30% month on month. In terms of sales in different regions, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas in the first three quarters reached 27,588.8 billion yuan, up by 16.5% year on year, or an average two-year growth of 3.9%. Meanwhile, sales in rural areas rose by 15.6% year on year to 4,216.9 billion yuan, with an average two-year growth of 3.8%. Grouped by consumption patterns, retail sales of goods in the first three quarters was 28,530.7 billion yuan, up by 15.0% year on year, or an average two-year growth of 4.5%, and the revenue from catering was 3,275 billion yuan, up by 29.8% year on year, or an average two-year decline of 0.6%. Grouped by categories, retail sales among enterprises above the designated size of upgraded consumer goods like gold, silver, and jewelry, sports and recreational goods, and office supplies in the first three quarters grew 41.6%, 28.6%, and 21.7% year on year, respectively; and basic living goods like beverages, clothes, shoes, hats, and textiles, and daily necessities went up by 23.4%, 20.6%, and 16.0% year on year, respectively. In the first three quarters, online retail sales reached 9,187.1 billion yuan, up by 18.5% year on year. Specifically, online retail sales of physical goods totaled 7,504.2 billion yuan, up by 15.2% year on year, accounting for 23.6% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.
