BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 49.2 in July, down 1.1 percentage points from June, official data showed on Friday.

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

Huo Lihui, a chief statistician with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), attributed the fall to multiple factors.

"Factors include a relatively high base from the rapid manufacturing growth in the previous period and the traditional off-season for production in some manufacturing industries," said Huo.

Despite the overall decline, equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing continued to play a supporting and leading role, with their PMI readings at 51.4 and 53.3, respectively, significantly higher than the manufacturing sector as a whole, she noted.

General equipment, computer and communication electronic equipment industries saw both production and new orders indices above 53 percent, indicating relatively high market activity and fast growth in production and demand, Huo added.

"Enterprises are generally optimistic about market development," Huo said, citing the sub-index for production and business expectations this month, which came in at 54.1.

In particular, the sub-indices spanning the manufacturing sectors of food, wine, beverages and refined tea, as well as railways, shipping, aerospace and equipment, exceeded 60 percent, reflecting stronger confidence in near-term development, according to the statistician.

Friday's data also revealed that the sub-index for employees went up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month to 49, indicating an improvement in the employment climate in the manufacturing sector, according to the NBS. ■