BEIJING - China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 6.7 percent year-on-year in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.

The growth accelerated 2.2 percentage points from March, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference.

On a monthly basis, industrial output edged up 0.97 percent in April from the previous month.

From January to April, industrial output rose 6.3 percent year-on-year, 0.2 percentage points higher than that from January to March

From January to April, industrial output rose 6.3 percent year-on-year, 0.2 percentage points higher than that from January to March.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.82 million). 

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Rise in retail sales 

The bureau's data also showed China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, climbed 4.1 percent year-on-year in the first four months.

In April alone, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 2.3 percent year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed

Retail sales in the country's urban regions rose 4 percent year-on-year during the period, while that in rural areas expanded 4.8 percent, according to the NBS.

Online retail sales jumped 11.5 percent year-on-year in January-April, with online retail sales of physical goods expanding 11.1 percent and accounting for 23.9 percent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

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In April alone, retail sales of consumer goods expanded 2.3 percent year-on-year, data showed.

Fixed-asset investment

Meanwhile, the officials data indicated that China's fixed-asset investment rose 4.2 percent year-on-year in the first four months of the year.

The investment totaled 14.34 trillion yuan during the period, the NBS said.

Investment in infrastructure construction rose 6 percent from a year ago, and manufacturing investment increased 9.7 percent during the period.

Investment in property development, however, fell 9.8 percent year-on-year during the January-April period, according to the NBS.

Excluding the property development investment, the country's fixed-asset investment climbed 8.9 percent during the first four months.

Urban unemployment

On China's job market, the employment situation remained generally stable last month with a falling jobless rate.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5 percent in April, down 0.2 percentage points from a month ago. The rate was also lower than the 5.2 percent reading a year ago, according to the NBS.

In the January-April period, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate came in at 5.2 percent, down from 5.4 percent in the same period of 2023

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major Chinese cities was 5 percent last month, and the rate for rural migrant workers was 4.5 percent, according to the bureau's data.

In the January-April period, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate came in at 5.2 percent, down from 5.4 percent in the same period of 2023.

Employment has been a priority in government work. This year, China aims to create over 12 million jobs in urban areas and keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5 percent.

The government has rolled out multiple measures to ensure a robust job market this year and provide more assistance to key groups, which includes college graduates and migrant workers.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Monday unveiled a plan to offer community-level posts for 34,400 college graduates this year, in fields such as education, agriculture, and medical care. China has invested 11.5 billion yuan so far this year to generate 250,000 jobs for rural residents, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

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Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang on Tuesday urged efforts to enhance the employment of college graduates and ensure stable employment among young people at a video conference on young people's employment and entrepreneurship.

More jobs need to be generated by promoting massive projects and key programs and launching measures for domestic demand expansion, Ding said. He also called for assistance to be provided to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in tackling shortages of finance, venues and experience.

Power generation

In terms of energy, power generation of China's major electricity production enterprises went up 3.1 percent year-on-year in April, according to NBS data.

Total power output of these firms reached 690.1 billion kilowatt-hours last month, said the bureau.

A breakdown of the data revealed that the output of solar power soared 21.4 percent year-on-year, while that for hydropower rose 21 percent.

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The output of thermal power and nuclear power climbed 1.3 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, year-on-year, according to the NBS.