BEIJING — China's nonmanufacturing activities continued to recover in July amid government efforts to spur consumption, official data showed on July 31.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's nonmanufacturing sector came in at 53.8 in July, down 0.9 percentage points from June, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Boosted by the pro-growth policies, the service sector continued to recover in July, noted NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe. The subindex for business activities in the sector was 52.8, staying in the expansion range.

Among the 21 sectors surveyed, 16 industries were in the expansion territory, with the subindexes of air transportation, accommodation and catering activities all standing above 60, a relatively high level.

"With the suppressed consumer demand being unleashed, these sectors rebounded at an accelerated pace," Zhao said.

The confidence of nonmanufacturing companies has strengthened, with the subindex tracking operation activity expectations of this sector standing at 58.8, staying in the expansion territory for the second month in a row.

Expansion of the construction sector accelerated in July, with the subindex for business activities in the sector standing at 59.2, increasing 2.6 percentage points from the previous month.

Data also showed the PMI for the manufacturing sector came in at 49 in July, down from 50.2 in June.