BEIJING, March 15 — Unemployment in China rose and youth unemployment spiked in the first months of the year, data showed Tuesday, as a surge of coronavirus cases rattled businesses and forced closures.
Retail sales for the first two months rose 6.7 per cent on-year, it said. This was well above the 3 per cent forecast by Bloomberg analysts. “Overall, the momentum of January-February recovery remained relatively healthy, though we must acknowledge that the external environment is still complicated and severe, and the Chinese economy faces many risks and challenges,” NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said.
Industrial production was up 7.5 per cent for the first two months, beating analysts’ expectations of a 3.9 per cent growth.