China's economy 'stable' in Oct, NBS says

Customers check out cosmetics at a duty-free shop in Sanya, Hainan province. [Photo/China News Service]

China's economic growth remained largely stable in October, although downside pressure continued to increase, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

Production index measuring the services sector came in at 7 percent in October in the first 10 months, unchanged from the first nine months, the NBS said at a news briefing.

Industrial output rose by 5.6 percent year-on-year, the same as in the January-September period. But in October alone, the indicator weakened to 4.7 percent from 5.8 percent in September.

Retail sales grew by 7.2 percent in October, down from 7.8 percent in the previous month.

Fixed-asset investment in the first 10 months rose by 5.2 percent, down by 0.2 percentage point in the January-September period.

Fixed-asset investment in high-tech industries expanded by 14.2 percent in the first 10 months, much higher than overall investment growth, the NBS said.

Unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent in October from 5.2 percent in September.

The NBS said downside growth pressure has continually intensified and the country should carry out policies to increase economic resilience and meet whole-year economic growth targets.