China’s economy slows as GDP falls short of market estimates

China’s economy is not accelerating as much as many had hoped for, either inside the country or among global investors.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) advanced 4.9% in the third quarter from the same time a year ago. This fell short of the median estimate of 5.2% and is down from 7.9% in the second quarter.

On a quarterly basis, the GDP growth rate in the third quarter was 0.2%, less than economists’ expectations of 0.5%.

Industrial production rose 3.1% year-over-year in September, lower than the market forecast of 4.5%. Industrial capacity utilization slipped to 77.1% in the July-to-September period.

Retail sales swelled at an annualized rate of 4.4% last month, topping estimates of 3.3%.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.9% in September.

Year-to-date fixed asset investment dropped to 7.3% in September.

Ouch.