New orders in California’s manufacturing sector slowed during the third quarter, contributing to a slowdown in the sector, according to a survey of purchasing managers in California.

The quarterly index from the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University found that California’s manufacturing sector registered a 56.7 index reading, down from 60.3 in the second quarter and from 60.5 in the third quarter of 2005. The reading still outpaced the national figure of 54.0.

Any score above a 50 indicates expansion; California’s manufacturing sector has now registered 13 consecutive quarters of growth and has outpaced the nation for the last nine quarters.

The prime trigger for the slowdown in manufacturing in the third quarter was a sharp drop in new orders to 51.1 from 61.2 in the second quarter. This represents the lowest reading in the last two years. The drop in new orders also led to a decline in supplier deliveries to 53.6 from 58.0.

On the positive side, the employment reading for the state’s manufacturing sector actually increased to 59.3 from 57.8, indicating higher employment levels. However, employment is generally considered a lagging indicator of economic activity.