BEIJING -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 55.9 in September, up from 55.2 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.

The non-manufacturing PMI has remained above 50 for seven months in a row, data from the NBS showed.

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

The growth of the non-manufacturing PMI accelerated for two consecutive months, bringing the index to the highest level in more than six years.

In September, the service sector accelerated its pace of recovery, with the sub-index for business activities expanding 0.9 points from the previous month to 55.2.

The effects of consumption encouraging policies continued to filter through, boosting domestic demand and reviving business activities, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe while analyzing the reading of September.

The sub-index of new orders climbed to 54 in September from 52.3 in August, indicating that market demand recovery gathered steam in the non-manufacturing sector.

Employment continued to expand, with the sub-index up slightly to 49.1 from 48.3 last month.

A breakdown of data showed the sub-indexes for business activities of transportation, telecommunications and software, as well as accommodation and catering remained above 60, Zhao noted.

Wednesday's data also showed that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.5 in September, up from 51 last month.