BEIJING -- China's service outsourcing industry saw steady expansion in the first half of this year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese firms inked service outsourcing contracts worth nearly 1.1 trillion yuan (about $153.9 billion) during the period, up 10.6 percent year-on-year.

The executed contract value stood at 740 billion yuan during this period, with a year-on-year increase of 14.7 percent.

Of the total, the value of offshore service outsourcing contracts rose 15.1 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 630 billion yuan.

In terms of the executed contract value, offshore service outsourcing involving the United States, the European Union and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership expanded 16.4 percent, 14.8 percent and 22.2 percent year-on-year, respectively, in the first six months of 2023.

In the January-June period, the industry brought in 330,000 new hires, with 73.2 percent of these individuals holding a university degree or above.

Outsourcing refers to hiring an outside party to carry out services or produce goods typically undertaken by in-house employees.