BEIJING, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 56.4 in November, up from 56.2 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

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

The non-manufacturing PMI has remained above 50 for nine consecutive months, data from the NBS showed.

In November, the service sector continued to accelerate its pace of recovery, with the sub-index for business activities expanding to 55.7 from 55.5 in the previous month.

Thanks to the country's targeted and timely measures against COVID-19, the consumer market recovered in an orderly manner, and the service sector rebounded steadily, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

A breakdown of the data showed the sub-indexes for business activities of rail transportation, civil aviation and finance remained above 60. Bucking the trend, the sub-indexes for the business activities of property development, ecological protection and environmental management fell below 50 in November, Zhao added.

Besides, The sub-index tracking business activity expectations hit 61.1, remaining above 61 for the fifth consecutive month, showing most service enterprises were optimistic about the development of the industry.

The construction industry continued its robust growth, as the sub-index for business activities stood at 60.5, up from 59.8 in October.

China has taken multi-pronged measures to mitigate economic fallout from COVID-19. Building on earlier efforts to advance the resumption of production, the country has ramped up tax and fee reductions and provided firms with low-cost loans to help them tide over difficulties.