A private gauge of China’s manufacturing activity hit its highest level in nearly a decade last month, thanks to a sharper increase in total new export order, suggesting the economic recovery remains on track.

The Caixin China purchasing managers index, which is weighted toward small, private manufacturers, rose to 53.6 in October from 53.0 in September, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said Monday.

October’s reading marked the sixth consecutive month the Caixin PMI held above the 50 mark separating contraction from expansion.

“Although new export order also rose further, the rate of growth slowed notably and was only marginal,” Caixin said. There were reports the second wave of coronavirus infections in external markets damped growth in new business from overseas, it said.

The employment subindex still came in just marginally above expansionary territory, indicating the job market remains weak generally, Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said in a statement accompanying the data.

“There are still many uncertainties outside of China, so policy makers need to be cautious about normalizing post-coronavirus monetary and fiscal policies,” he said.

China’s official manufacturing PMI, focused more on large, state-owned companies, slipped to 51.4 in October from 51.5 in September, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. The official survey of manufacturers has a much larger sample than the private survey.