In August, several important economic indicators in Zhejiang Province became regular for the first time in the year. The latest economic operation data released by the Provincial Bureau of Statistics on the 17th showed that the economic operation of Zhejiang Province continued to pick up in August, and the trend of stable growth was more consolidated.
From the main data, in August, Zhejiang’s industrial production and sales picked up at an accelerated pace. The added value of industries above designated size increased by 9.9% year on year, 3.8 percentage points higher than that of last month; The service industry has gradually recovered. In the first seven months, the operating income of service enterprises above designated size increased by 6.6% year on year, 0.6 percentage points higher than that in the first half of the year; Investment growth picked up. Fixed asset investment in the first eight months increased by 3.9% year on year, 0.4 percentage points higher than that in the first seven months.
The five indicators “turned from negative to positive”, which became the biggest highlight of Zhejiang’s economic data in August. The cumulative growth rate of industrial profits turned from negative to positive. In the first seven months, the total profits of industrial enterprises above designated size turned from a year-on-year decrease of 5.3% in the first half of the year to an increase of 5.6%. Among the 38 major industries, 37 achieved profits and 15 achieved year-on-year growth; Private investment in the first eight months increased by 0.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than that in the first seven months, turning from negative to positive; The cumulative growth rate of freight volume has changed from negative to positive. In August, the freight volume of the whole society increased by 16.6% year on year, 6.1 percentage points higher than that of last month, and 1.1% higher from January to August; Catering revenue increased by 3.1% from a decrease of 5.6% last month, up 8.7 percentage points; In the first eight months, the general public budget revenue increased by 1.1%, 1.9 percentage points higher than that in the first seven months, and the cumulative growth rate changed from negative to positive.
“For the first time in the year, several indicators turned from negative to positive, indicating that we have achieved major strategic results in the fight against COVID-19, production and operation have gradually recovered, and the social economy has basically returned to normal.” Analysis by Wang Meifu, President of the Provincial Bureau of Statistics.
Another bright spot in the economic data of Zhejiang Province in August is the accelerated recovery of the “troika”. Import and export continued to grow: In August, the import and export, export and import volume of Zhejiang Province were 312.8 billion yuan, 238.4 billion yuan and 74.4 billion yuan respectively, up 16.2%, 16.5% and 15.4% year on year, accounting for a further increase in the national share. Investment growth picked up: In the first eight months, fixed asset investment in Zhejiang Province increased by 3.9% year on year, 0.4 percentage points higher than that in the first seven months. The gradual recovery of consumption is particularly noteworthy: in August, although the total retail sales of social consumer goods decreased by 2.7% year on year, the retail sales of goods realized through the public network increased by 16.7%, 6.4 percentage points higher than the previous month. According to the statistics of the Provincial Department of Commerce, the province’s online retail sales reached 1200.7 billion yuan, up 11.4% year on year; The network consumption of residents in the province was 624.6 billion yuan, up 8.7% year on year. In addition, the consumption of sports and entertainment, cultural office, cosmetics, gold, silver and jewelry has achieved double-digit growth, and the automobile products have also increased by 5.8%.
(Source: Zhejiang News)