The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 55.7 in December, down from 56.4 in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below it reflects contraction.
The non-manufacturing PMI has remained above 50 for 10 consecutive months, data from the NBS showed.
In December, the service sector saw a slower recovery, with the sub-index for business activities standing at 54.8.
The figure was down from 55.7 in November but still remained at a relatively elevated level of the year, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at NBS, while analyzing the December reading.
A breakdown of the data showed the sub-indexes for business activities of civil aviation, telecommunications and satellite transmission, as well as financial services, remained above 60, Zhao added.
The construction industry continued its robust growth, as the sub-index for business activities stood at 60.7, up from 60.5 in November.
Thursday's data also showed that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in December, down from 52.1 last month. Enditem
