An employee works on the production line of a combine harvester manufacturer in Qingzhou, Shandong province. WANG JILIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

China's factory activity gauge improved marginally in September, but was still below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expansion, official data showed on Monday.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's official purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector came in at 49.8 in September, up from 49.1 in August. The figure remained in contraction for a fifth consecutive month in September.

Zhao Qinghe, an NBS statistician, explained that September's manufacturing uptick was supported by a recovery in both supply and demand, with improvement in the subindexes for production and new orders.

The sub-index for production was 51.2 in September versus 49.8 in August, while the gauge for new orders came in at 49.9 in September, up from 48.9 in August, the NBS reported.