China recovery faces pressure after April activity weak, youth unemployment rises
CTV
Chinese leaders face pressure to shore up a slowing economic recovery and generate jobs after consumer spending and other activity in April were weaker than expected and a survey found 1 in 5 young workers in cities was unemployed.
Chinese leaders face pressure to shore up a slowing economic recovery and generate jobs after consumer spending and other activity in April were weaker than expected and a survey found 1 in 5 young workers in cities was unemployed.
Retail sales accelerated following the end of anti-virus restrictions in December but were below forecasts, official data showed Tuesday. Factory output edged down compared with March.
Chinese economic activity has improved while the U.S. and European economies are cooling after interest rate hikes to extinguish inflation. But consumers, uneasy about possible job losses, are returning to shops and restaurants less quickly than expected.
"The pace of recovery has slowed sharply," said Larry Hu and Yuxiao Zhang of Macquarie in a report.
Growth in retail sales accelerated to 18.4% over last year's depressed level in April, but that was below private sector expectations of up to 35%.
Factory output rose 5.6% over a year ago but was off 0.5 percentage points from March. Investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets rose 4.7% in the first four months of 2023 but slowed from the first quarter's 5.4% growth rate.
"The recovery of demand is still insufficient," said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics.
