China's Retail Sales Growth Slows to 0.6% in July; Unemployment Rises to 5.2%

According to official data from China's National Bureau of Statistics published by Trading Economics, China's year on year retail sales growth slowed to 0.6 percent in July 2026, down from 1 percent growth in June and well below the market's 1.5 percent forecast. Automobile sales posted the sharpest decline among big ticket items, falling 17 percent; excluding automobiles, retail sales rose 2.5 percent. Sales of petroleum products fell 7.6 percent, furniture 8.8 percent and building materials 14.2 percent.

The same data showed China's industrial production growth slowing to 4.5 percent in July from 5.3 percent in June, while the surveyed urban unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in July from 5.0 percent in June, above the market's 5.1 percent forecast. The unemployment rate among migrant workers also rose, to 5.2 percent from 4.9 percent.