China HSBC services PMI growth at four-month high

In contrast, PMIs for China's services sector showed firms are enjoying much stronger growth than manufacturers.

An official services PMI compiled by China's government and released over the weekend edged up to 56.2 in January, barely up from December's 56.1.

MORE BUSINESS, MORE JOBS

So optimistic are services companies with regards to China's economic pick-up that they hired more workers again in January to extend a four-year run, HSBC said.

The bank said 18 percent of companies reported they did more business in January compared to the previous month due to rising new orders and projects, while 17 percent of firms reported an increase in new business.

Services firms overtook manufacturers to be the biggest employer in China for the first time ever in 2011, accounting for 35 percent of all jobs. Manufacturing jobs in turn accounted for 30 percent of total employment.

Chinese services firms have survived the global financial crisis much better than factories, partly because they do not rely on exports for growth unlike manufacturers.

China's exporters took a beating in the latest global economic slowdown as belt-tightening by U.S. and European shoppers has sapped demand for Chinese goods. As a result, net exports have dragged on China's economic growth in the last two years.

Chinese services firms, on the other hand, cater to the more resilient domestic market that is supported by stubbornly strong house prices. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Hong

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