BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 56.3 in October from September's 55.4, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sunday.

A reading above 50 indicates activity in the sector is accelerating, while one below 50 indicates it is slowing.

The services sector index followed the bureau's manufacturing PMI on Friday, which showed China's factory activity expanded at its fastest rate in 18 months in October, with strong output the main driver of the expansion.

China's services industry contributed to 45 percent of gross domestic output in 2012, and it overtook manufacturing as the country's biggest employer in 2011. It has weathered the global slowdown much better than the factory sector.

A separate PMI survey of the services industry by Markit Economics and HSBC will be released on Tuesday. That survey covers more smaller, private firms than the official PMI.