China’s economy posted steady gains in May, with a notable rebound in consumer spending and stable labour market conditions, while investment and industrial production figures slightly undershot expectations.
The latest monthly data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that the “national economy maintained stability against the pressure”.
According to the release, “production and demand grew steadily, employment was generally stable, [and] new growth drivers witnessed robust development”.
Retail sales led the upside surprise, rising 6.4% year-on-year compared with the 5% increase expected, growing at the fastest rate since 2023. This also marked a 1.3 percentage point acceleration from the previous month, and a 0.93% gain on a monthly basis.
Consumer goods sales totalled CN¥4.13 trillion (A$886.41 billion) in May. Among key categories, sales of grain, oil and food jumped 14.6%, jewellery sales surged 21.8%, and sports and recreational goods leapt 28.3%.
Industrial production grew 5.8% in May from a year earlier, just below the 5.9% forecast, and advanced 0.61% month-on-month. Within this, manufacturing output rose 6.2%, mining output climbed 5.7%, and utilities production increased by 2.2%.
Notably, equipment manufacturing expanded 9.0%, while high-tech manufacturing grew 8.6%, both outpacing the broader sector average.
Fixed asset investment (FAI) for the January–May period rose 3.7% from a year earlier, below the consensus forecast of 3.9%. Excluding real estate, FAI increased 7.7%.
Manufacturing investment stood out with an 8.5% gain, and infrastructure investment rose 5.6%. In contrast, real estate investment fell 10.7%.
Employment conditions also improved. The urban surveyed unemployment rate dropped to 5.0% in May, from 5.1% in April.
Across both local and non-local household registrations, the rate held steady at 5.0%, while for non-local agricultural registrants, the rate was 4.9%.
