BEIJING -- Profits of China's major industrial firms increased 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first five months of the year, official data showed Thursday.

Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about $2.81 million) saw their combined profits reach 2.75 trillion yuan during the January-May period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

NBS statistician Yu Weining said as the country continues to step up macroeconomic policies to boost the economy, both market demand and industrial production further improved, resulting in a sustained recovery in major industrial enterprises' profits.

Among the 41 industrial categories monitored by the bureau, 32 recorded profit growth.

The profits of the equipment manufacturing sector continued to increase rapidly in the January-May period, with the combined profits of the sector gaining 11.5 percent year-on-year, said the NBS.

The surge contributed 3.6 percentage points to the country's overall growth in industrial profits, making equipment manufacturing sector the largest contributor, said the NBS.

As the manufacturing industry has witnessed significant progress in advancing towards high-end, intelligent, and environmentally friendly production, new drivers of manufacturing growth have been fostered to underpin the profit increase of the equipment manufacturers, Yu said.

A breakdown of the data showed profits of sectors including electronics, transportation equipment and auto manufacturing also posted strong growth.

Notably, Yu pointed out that the recovery of domestic demand and accelerated industrial exports had resulted in a rise in consumer goods production, with the sector's profits climbing by 10.9 percent year-on-year.

Despite the industrial recovery, the effective domestic demand still remains insufficient, Yu said, noting that more should be done to strengthen the endogenous driving force for economic recovery.

Greater efforts should be made to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, promote new industrialization, expand effective demand, and boost the confidence of business entities, Yu added.