KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's services sector revenue rose 8.5 percent year-on-year to 399.7 billion ringgit (101.49 billion U.S. dollars) in fourth quarter 2017 as compared to the same quarter 2016, said the country's statistics department.

The department said in a statement that the increase was mainly driven by wholesale & retail trade, food & beverages and accommodation segments which were up 8.5 percent year-on-year.

Other segments that support the growth were the professional and real estate agent segment that surged 14.7 percent year-on-year, and health, education and arts, entertainment & recreation that expanded 8.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the total number of persons engaged in the services sector increased by 2.1 percent to 3.6 million persons.

In the fourth quarter 2017, salaries and wages paid for the sector stood at 23.8 billion ringgit, which was an increase of 5 percent as compared to the previous year.