An owner of a malatang stall serves a customer on a snack street in Qinzhou District of Tianshui City, northwest China's Gansu Province, March 19, 2024. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 53 in March 2024, up from 51.4 in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday.

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

This latest growth extended the rising trend shown by the non-manufacturing PMI in previous months, adding to the evidence confirming that business activities in China's non-manufacturing sectors continued to gain steam.

The sub-index for the service sector was 52.4 in March, up from 51 in February and increasing for three consecutive months, the data showed.

Services related to enterprise production, such as mail, satellite transmission, and finance, saw rapid growth in March, while the wholesale sector, railway transport, and rental services all logged improvements to varying degrees.

Activity levels in the construction sector also picked up, as relevant projects across the country accelerated building activities after the Spring Festival holiday, according to NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

The sub-index for the construction sector reached 56.2 in March, up from 53.5 a month earlier. The reading for the sector's business expectations rose to 59.2 in March, indicating the growing confidence of construction companies in recent developments in the industry.