BEIJING - China's electricity consumption, an important indicator of economic activity, continued expansion in May as the country's economy stabilized, official data showed Wednesday.

Power use reached 496.8 billion kilowatt-hours in May, up 5.1 percent year on year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

In the first five months, power consumption rose 6.4 percent to 2.43 trillion kilowatt-hours, said the NEA.

In May, electricity use in the service sector jumped 10.7 percent year on year, outpacing the increases in the industrial and agricultural sectors, which stood at 3.9 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

The growth rate gap reflected positive changes in China's economic structure as the service industry has expanded faster than other sectors.

China's service sector has continued its strong performance in May, adding to the country's economic growth and employment, as the Index of Services Production has increased by 8.1 percent year on year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

Other NBS data suggested that China's economy maintained steady growth in May, with slower growth in property investment and fixed-asset investment but faster growth in consumption.