NEW YORK/LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Global manufacturing ended 2013 on a strong note, as major exporters like the United States, Japan and Germany all saw demand pick up, although China's performance remained modest, surveys showed on Thursday. China's growth rate fell to a three-month low, though the index was still above the 50 mark that indicates expansion. Weakness in global equity markets was blamed in part on the Chinese data, though markets were also taking a breather from recent gains. U.S. manufacturing activity grew in December at its swiftest pace in 11 months and the rate of job growth was the strongest since March, according to Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index. Other U.S. economic figures, including construction spending and the Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' survey, also pointed to steady gains in the world's largest economy. We have had a whole string of strong ISM numbers. This is a gauge of sentiment and sentiment is improving," said Scott Brown, chief economist with Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida. Europe has turned the corner. It's not contracting at least. The emerging markets are doing better. We are looking for growth to pick up once again in the new year and we have few headwinds to deal with, especially less fiscal drag. The U.S. Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing PMI index dipped slightly to 57 from 57.3 in November, but that's still well above the 50 level that indicates growth in the sector. Construction spending rose 1 percent to a four-and-a-half-year high. A Reuters poll of economists taken in mid-December forecasts annualized first-quarter economic growth of 2.5 percent, reaching 3 percent by year-end. Since then, economic data has tended to exceed forecasts. U.S. stock markets have been on a tear, even as the U.S. Federal Reserve eases off on its monthly stimulus. The S&P 500 benchmark closed at all-time highs on Tuesday, even though equities dipped modestly on Thursday. Factory sentiment hit a 10-month high in Mexico, with the HSBC Mexico Manufacturing PMI rising to 52.6 in December, thanks to improved new orders and output. Add in the fastest growth in 7 1/2 years for Japanese manufacturing and no major slowdown in Chinese manufacturing output, and the stage is set for a solid start to the year. Markit's U.S. manufacturing index rose to 55 in December from a final reading of 54.7 in November, above the 50 threshold that indicates growth. Markit's euro zone manufacturing PMI rose to 52.7 in December from 51.6 in November. Manufacturing appears to reviving in several euro zone countries that have struggled since the sovereign debt crisis broke out more than four years ago, with gains in Spain, Ireland and even Greece. This story corrects construction spending rise in paragraph eight Writing by David Gaffen and Ross Finley; Additional reporting by Richard Leong in NEW YORK, Jonathan Standing in BEIJING, Faith Hung in TAIPEI, Rieka Rahadiana in JAKARTA, Yati Himatsingka in BANGALORE; Andy Bruce in LONDON; Editing by Larry King and Chizu Nomiyama