China's economic data disappoints in May as consumer spending lags

China’s main economic data missed estimates in May as the recovery continues to stabilize from the first quarter’s record expansion, with retail spending still lagging expectations.

Industrial output rose 8.8% in May from a year earlier, below the 9.2% forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. Retail sales increased 12.4% versus an estimate of 14%. Fixed-asset investment increased 15.4% in the first five months of the year from the same period in 2020. The unemployment rate eased to 5% in May from 5.1% in the previous month.

On a two-year average basis, which strips out the impact of last year’s pandemic, industrial