China’s fourth-quarter GDP missed estimates on Wednesday as it was battered by a property crisis, sluggish consumption and global uncertainties.
GDP for October-December quarter rose 5.2%, data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 5.3% growth.
Full-year GDP growth also came in at 5.2%, its lowest rate since 1990, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic years.
The world’s second-largest economy resumed reporting unemployment rate for young people. The National Bureau of Statistics had suspended releasing the date on people in the 16-24 age group in summer to reassess calculation methods. That unemployment rate had climbed to records above 20%.
According to the latest release, the unemployment for young people, excluding those still in school, was 14.9% in December. It was 5.1% in cities.
China has been battered by a property sector that has lost trust with consumers, a fall in exports and retail sales, and by U.S. companies trying to diversify there supply chains under the ‘China Plus One’ strategy.
