BEIJING — Recovery of China's software industry has picked up momentum, with profits in the first half of the year (H1) seeing a turnaround, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

During the first six months, profit of the software industry rose 1.3 percent year-on-year to 424.1 billion yuan (about $60.67 billion), ending a five-month declining streak and showing a gradual recovery in the sector hurt by the COVID-19 epidemic.

Companies in the sector raked in nearly 3.56 trillion yuan in revenue from January to June, up 6.7 percent year-on-year.

Software exports continued their slow recovery. Total exports stood at $22.3 billion in H1, down 0.4 percent year-on-year.

The sector employed 6.73 million people during the January-June period, up 0.1 percent year-on-year, while its gross payroll increased 1.4 percent from the same period last year.