In this undated photo, employees test touch screens at Jiangsu Huake Chuangzhi Technology Co in Suqian, Jiangsu province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 8.8 percent year-on-year in May as production demand continued to recover, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday.

The figure was up 13.6 percent from the level in 2019, bringing the average growth for the past two years to 6.6 percent, NBS data showed.

In the first five months, China's industrial output gained 17.8 percent year-on-year, resulting in an average two-year growth of 7 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed

In the first five months, industrial output gained 17.8 percent year-on-year, resulting in an average two-year growth of 7 percent.

Industrial output is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about US$3.12 million).

In a breakdown by ownership, the private sector's output increased 9.1 percent year-on-year last month, while the output of state-controlled enterprises rose 7.7 percent.

The manufacturing sector's output jumped 9 percent year-on-year in May and the mining sector saw its output increase 3.2 percent, data showed.

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China's high-tech manufacturing sector is gaining steam on the backdrop of the country's innovation-driven strategy, said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui. Last month, the sector's output expanded 17.5 percent with an average two-year growth of 13.1 percent.

In May, the purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51, remaining in the expansion zone for the 15th consecutive month, previous NBS data showed.  

Fixed-asset investment up 15.4% in first 5 months

The country's fixed-asset investment went up 15.4 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year, NBS data showed.

During that period, fixed-asset investment amounted to 19.39 trillion yuan (about US$3.03 trillion), according to the NBS.

Compared with the 2019 level, the growth in fixed-asset investment came in at 8.5 percent during that period. The average Jan-May growth rate in the recent two years stood at 4.2 percent.

Investment by the private sectors rose 18.1 percent in the period.

On a month-on-month basis, fixed-asset investment rose 0.17 percent in May.

Investment in the primary industry increased 28.7 percent year-on-year in the first five months, while investment in the secondary industry climbed 18.1 percent, and investment in the tertiary industry rose 13.8 percent.

Investment in high-tech manufacturing and services jumped 29.9 percent and 17.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.

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

Retail sales up 12.4% in May

Meanwhile, China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 12.4 percent year-on-year in May this year, Wednesday's data showed.

Retail sales in May were 9.3 percent higher than the same month of 2019. The two-year average growth was 4.5 percent.

In the Jan-May period, retail sales surged 25.7 percent year-on-year, with the two-year average growth standing at 4.3 percent, according to the NBS

In the Jan-May period, retail sales surged 25.7 percent year-on-year, with the two-year average growth standing at 4.3 percent, according to the NBS.

The growth reversed from declines seen in the first five months last year, when consumer spending was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Retail sales of all categories of consumer goods monitored by the NBS registered positive average growth from May 2019 to May 2021. The average two-year growth of 10 categories, including cosmetics and cultural and office supplies, was faster than that of April's.

In May alone, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas amounted to 3.13 trillion yuan (about US$488.5 billion), up 12.3 percent from a year earlier, while the figure in rural areas rose 13.2 percent year-on-year to reach 463.2 billion yuan.

From January to May, the catering industry saw a year-on-year increase of 56.8 percent in revenue, as the hardest-hit sector continued to recover from COVID-19 disruptions.

Online consumption remained a bright spot, with online retail sales rising 24.7 percent year-on-year to reach about 4.82 trillion yuan in the January-May period.

Online sales of goods went up 19.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 22.6 percent of total retail sales during the same period.

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Property investment up 18.3% in first 5 months

China's investment in property development rose 18.3 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year, the data showed.

In the Jan-May period, property investment rose 18.3 percent year-on-year to 5.43 trillion yuan (about US$847.4 billion), NBS data showed.

The growth rate slowed from 21.6 percent increase in the first four months and 25.6 percent increase in the first three months.

Compared with the same period in 2019, property investment climbed 17.9 percent, putting average Jan-May growth for 2020 and 2021 at 8.6 percent, NBS data showed.

Investment in residential buildings went up 20.7 percent year-on-year in the first five months.

Commercial housing sales jumped 36.3 percent year-on-year in terms of floor area to 663.83 million square meters. In terms of value, commercial housing sales soared 52.4 percent to 7.05 trillion yuan.

The property development climate index compiled by NBS came in at 101.17 points in May.

Surveyed unemployment rate dips in May

The nation's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5 percent in May, 0.9 percentage points lower than the same period last year, NBS data showed.

Compared with the level in April, the May figure was 0.1 percentage points lower, said the NBS. A total of 5.74 million new urban jobs were created in the first five months.

The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.4 percent last month.

Meanwhile, the surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.2 percent in May, remaining the same with that in April, according to the NBS.

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