On September 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released data on the operation of the national economy in August. Data show that in August, the national economy continued to recover and develop, production demand rose steadily, employment prices were generally stable, most indicators were better than the previous month, and major indicators generally improved.
Statistics show that industrial production has picked up and the service sector has continued to recover. In August, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 4.2% year-on-year, 0.4 percentage points higher than the previous month; it increased by 0.32% month-on-month; the national service industry production index increased by 1.8% year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points higher than the previous month.
In terms of consumption, investment, and import and export, market sales accelerated in August, with total retail sales of consumer goods reaching 3,625.8 billion yuan, up 5.4 percent year-on-year, 2.7 percentage points higher than the previous month; fixed asset investment rose steadily, from January to August , the national investment in fixed assets (excluding farmers) was 36,710.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, 0.1 percentage point faster than that from January to July; the import and export of goods continued to grow. From January to August, the total import and export of goods was 27,302.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase. 10.1%.
In terms of people’s livelihood, in August, the employment situation was generally stable, and the consumer price was basically stable. The surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas nationwide was 5.3 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month; the national consumer price (CPI) rose by 2.5 percent year-on-year, and the increase was down 0.2 percentage point from the previous month. From January to August, 8.98 million new jobs were created in cities and towns across the country; the national consumer price rose by 1.9% year-on-year.
(Shi Lanna)
[Editor in charge: Cao Yuanqing]