A worker debugs a special robot at a workshop in the Tangshan Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in Tangshan, North China's Hebei province, on July 17, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, continued to recover as factories stepped up production amid effective COVID-19 control, official data showed Friday.

Industrial output went up 4.8 percent year-on-year in July, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In July, output by the manufacturing industry expanded 6 percent year-on-year

On a month-on-month basis, industrial output rose 0.98 percent.   

In July, output by the manufacturing industry expanded 6 percent year-on-year.

Output of industries in the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water reported a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent, while the mining sector saw output down by 2.6 percent.

In a breakdown by ownership, output of state-controlled enterprises rose 4.1 percent year-on-year last month while that of the private sector went up 4.2 percent.

The output of joint-stock companies rose 4.2 percent and that of overseas-funded enterprises jumped 7.6 percent.

The output by high-tech and equipment manufacturing sectors increased 9.8 percent and 13 percent, respectively, both markedly outpacing the overall growth in industrial output, said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui.

In the first seven months, industrial output went down 0.4 percent year-on-year, with the rate narrowing 0.9 percentage points from the Jan-June period.

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Fixed-asset investment down 1.6% in first 7 months

China's fixed-asset investment went down 1.6 percent year-on-year during the Jan-July period, narrowing from the 3.1-percent decline in the first half of the year, the NBS said.

The 1.6 percent dip in fixed-asset investment during the Jan-July period narrowed from the 3.1-percent in the first half of the year, the NBS said

In the first seven months, fixed-asset investment amounted to 32.92 trillion yuan (about US$4.74 trillion), according to the NBS.

Investment by the state sector went up 3.8 percent during the period while private-sector investment fell 5.7 percent, with the drop down 1.6 percentage points from that in the first half of the year.

Investment in the primary industry went up 7.7 percent while investment in the secondary industry fell 7.4 percent. Investment in the tertiary industry edged up 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, investment in high-tech manufacturing and services surged 7.4 percent and 9.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.

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In July, fixed-asset investment rose 4.85 percent from June.

Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets. 

Property investment up 3.4%

The nation's investment in property development rose 3.4 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2020, widening from the 1.9-percent increase in the first half, the NBS said.

Total property investment in the period stood at 7.53 trillion yuan (about US$1.08 trillion), the NBS said

Total property investment in the period stood at 7.53 trillion yuan (about US$1.08 trillion), the NBS said.

Investment in residential buildings came in at 5.57 trillion yuan, up 4.1 percent from the same period last year.

Commercial housing sales in terms of floor area totaled 836.31 million square meters in the first seven months, down 5.8 percent year-on-year.

In terms of value, commercial housing sales fell 2.1 percent year-on-year to 8.14 trillion yuan in the first seven months.

The property development climate index compiled by the NBS went up slightly by 0.24 points from June to 100.09 points in July.  

READ MORE: China's home prices see slower month-on-month growth in July

Retail sales maintain expansion

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, rose 0.85 percent month-on-month in July, NBS data showed.

The figure registered a mild rise from 0.83 percent in June, maintaining a six-month streak of expansion after a contraction of 10.91 percent in January.

China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 0.85 percent month-on-month in July, maintaining a six-month streak of expansion after a contraction of 10.91 percent in January

In July, retail sales of consumer goods reached 3.22 trillion yuan (about US$463.99 billion), down 1.1 percent year-on-year, narrowing by 0.7 percentage points from June.

In the first seven months, China's retail sales of consumer goods went down 9.9 percent year-on-year to reach 20.45 trillion yuan.  

READ MORE: Steady recovery boosts service sector

Retail sales of commodities totaled 2.89 trillion yuan in July, up 0.2 percent year-on-year, rebounding from the 0.2-percent drop in June.

Revenues of the catering sector, one of the worst-hit industries by COVID-19, fell 11 percent year-on-year in July, narrowing by 4.2 percentage points from June, said the NBS.

Meanwhile, online sales continued to be active as consumers turned to online services when staying indoors, posting an increase of 9 percent year-on-year in the first seven months, up 1.7 percentage points from the first half of the year.

Job market stable

China's job market remained stable with the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas standing at 5.7 percent in July, buoyed by improving demands from emerging industries, NBS data showed.

A total of 6.71 million new urban jobs were created in the first seven months of 2020, down 1.96 million from the same period of last year, said the NBS.

Emerging industries, including livestreaming e-commerce and online retail, created new jobs, which played an important role in stabilizing employment.

Fu Linghui, Spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, China

The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 5 percent in July, down 0.2 percentage points from June.

Meanwhile, the surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.8 percent last month, remaining flat with that of June, according to the NBS.

"Due to the recovery of the economy, employment demands are actually expanding," said Fu Linghui, a spokesperson for the NBS. "Emerging industries, including livestreaming e-commerce and online retail, created new jobs, which played an important role in stabilizing employment."

The overall employment situation for migrant workers has also been improving as measures to stabilize the labor market are gradually taking effect, Fu said. 

By the end of the second quarter, a total of 177.5 million rural laborers had left hometowns for work, accounting for 97.3 percent of that in the same period last year, Fu said. Compared with that of the first quarter, the figure rose by over 55 million, according to NBS data.

READ MORE: Jobs for rural workers a top priority, official says

However, Fu said that the pressure on employment situation remains as the number of fresh graduates hit a record high of 8.74 million this year, and some individual and smaller businesses are still facing difficulties in production and operation.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who have participated in the employment survey in urban areas, including migrant workers in cities.