More evidence that China's economy is hitting the brakes has come in as the country reported a slowdown in its manufacturing growth for the month of October.

China's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures the country's factory activity, surprised analysts by falling to 50.8 for the month of October, from 51.1 in September, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A score above 50 indicates growth. Industry observers had been expecting a slight increase in manufacturing growth.

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The report comes on the heels of recently released statistics revealing that the overall Chinese economy is growing at its slowest pace for more than five years.

"There remains downward pressure on the economy, and monetary policy will remain easy," said analysts at China International Capital.

 Among the indices that comprise the PMI, the production index was 53.1, down 0.5 percentage points from September. The index of new export orders edged 0.3 percentage points lower to 49.9, and new orders index fell 0.6 percentage points to 51.6.  The index of production and business activity expectation dropped 1.9 percentage points to 54.1.

The data also shows that bigger manufacturers are faring better during the slowdown than medium-sized companies. The PMI of large manufacturers for October was 51.9 in October, down only one-tenth of a percentage point from the previous month. Meanwhile, medium-sized firms had a PMU of 49.1, a decrease of nine-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month.

TagsChina's Purchasing Managers Index, PMI, slowdown, factory activity