China's economic performance remained stable in August with signs of intrinsic strength and vitality.

Readings of the major economic indicators released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed continued growth in the first eight months despite monthly fluctuations, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference on September 16.

The job market remained generally stable in that period, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate dropping 0.1 percentage point to 5.2 percent last month and 9.84 million new urban jobs created.

The government unveiled a slew of measures to bolster employment, including targeted support for college graduates, migrant workers and veterans, as well as employment-related training programs, Fu said.

Retail sales of consumer goods, excluding automobiles, rose 9.3 percent year on year in August, up 0.5 percentage point from the previous month.

"Consumption growth remains a robust driver for the economy," he said, adding that consumption of services was estimated to continue double-digit growth.

Industrial upgrade was noticeable in both services and manufacturing.

The service sector continued to expand, with modern services including information technology, leasing and commercial services leading the growth, according to NBS data.

The overall average price of commodities shrank by 2 percent in August from July and by 6 percent from the same period last year, according to the China Logistics Information Center.

Home prices in 70 major cities remained generally stable with a slight pickup in large cities.

New home prices in the four first-tier cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou—increased 0.3 percent month on month in August.

The value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($2.8 million), expanded 4.4 percent year on year in August.

In a breakdown by ownership, the output of state-controlled enterprises went up 4.1 percent year on year in August, while that of joint-stock companies went up 5.3 percent; the output of overseas-funded enterprises and enterprises with investment from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan increased by 1.3 percent.

The production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water reported a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent in August, the fastest among the three major sectors, which also include mining and manufacturing.

Manufacturing output rose 4.3 percent year on year, and the output growth of the mining sector rose 3.7 percent.

Hi-tech manufacturing topped the overall industrial output growth in August by 1.7 percentage points with its 6.1-percent year-on-year increase, putting the figure for the January-August period at 8.4 percent.

Investment in hi-tech manufacturing rose 12 percent and 14.9 percent in hi-tech services, both leading in overall investment growth in their respective sectors.

Hi-tech-related investment is expected to expand given the government's assurance to support the financing of enterprises in science and innovation, according to Li Chao, an analyst at Huatai Securities.

The data showed slower growth in property investment, fixed assets investment and industrial output in August.

Fu said the authorities would continue to countercyclical measure adjustments and undertake other pro-growth measures to anchor further development.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published by Xinhua News Agency

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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