The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that China’s retail sales fell 11.1% and industrial production fell 2.9% in April.
Retail sales fell by 0.2% in the first four months of this year, and industrial production rose by 4% in the first four months.
The NBS report also shows that fixed-asset investment increased by 6.8% in the first four months of this year.
China’s unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April, its highest level since February 2020 (5.8% in March).
Poor economic data in April suggest that the Chinese economy was hit hard by the imposition of a lockdown on Shanghai, China’s financial center, to control the spread of COVID-19 under the zero-covid policy.
However, the Shanghai Municipal Government announced a relaxation of the lockdown measures and allowed supermarkets, department stores, restaurants and hair salons to resume operations on May 16 after being closed for weeks.