BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Revenues of China's software sector declined in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, weighed down by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), official data showed.
The industry raked in a total of 1.4 trillion yuan (about 198 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, down 6.2 percent year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The decrease narrowed by 5.4 percentage points from that in the first two months.
In breakdown, revenues from software products and information technology services went down 10.2 percent and 2.3 percent year on year, respectively.
Profits dived 13.1 percent year on year to 166.7 billion yuan in Q1, expanding from an 11.8-percent decrease in the Jan.-Feb. period.
The sector's exports retreated 13.2 percent from a year earlier to 9.6 billion dollars.
The ministry attributed sharp declines to the COVID-19 epidemic, which dramatically slowed software businesses.
The sector employed 6.56 million people during the first three months, up 1.7 percent, while their gross payroll fell 2.7 percent year on year. Enditem
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