At the meeting, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, chief economist, and director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy, introduced that in October, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, all regions and departments conscientiously implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, strengthened the stability of employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations, and focused on strengthening the domestic circulation, actively promoting the dual circulation of domestic and international markets. Production demand grew steadily, employment prices remained stable overall, and the trend of transformation and upgrading continued. The national economy continued to develop steadily with progress. It mainly presents the following characteristics:
One is that production supply continues to grow. The agricultural production situation is good, with a steady increase in autumn grain area and continuous improvement in yield per unit. A bumper harvest of grain is expected throughout the year, and the progress of autumn and winter sowing is generally smooth. The overall industrial production is stable, and the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 4.9% year-on-year in October, continuing to maintain overall stable growth. Among them, the added value of equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8%, significantly faster than the growth of industries above designated size, and played a significant supporting role in the growth of industries above designated size. The growth of the service industry is stable, with a year-on-year increase of 4.6% in the service industry production index in October. The growth rate has declined compared to the previous month, mainly due to the impact of the increase in the base of the same period last year. Based on the two-year average and cumulative growth rate, the growth of the service industry has remained relatively stable. The combination of National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays has accelerated the growth of related service industries. In October, the production index of accommodation and catering industry increased by 3.9% year-on-year, which is 2.6 percentage points faster than the previous month.
Secondly, the market sales continue to expand. The special action to boost consumption continues to show results, with a significant driving effect on the holiday economy and sustained growth in retail sales of goods and services. The total retail sales of consumer goods in October increased by 2.9% year-on-year, and the sales of goods related to the trade in program maintained a rapid growth. In October, the retail sales of communication equipment and cultural office supplies above the quota increased by 23.2% and 13.5% respectively. Holiday residents' travel has increased, and consumption of tourism and cultural services has also expanded. From January to October, service retail sales increased by 5.3% year-on-year, faster than the growth rate of commodity retail sales.
Thirdly, the overall employment situation is stable. The urban survey unemployment rate continues to decline. In October, the national urban survey unemployment rate was 5.1%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, marking two consecutive months of decline. Among them, the urban survey unemployment rate of migrant agricultural registered residence labor force was 4.5%, 0.2 percentage points lower than that of the previous month, which was significantly lower than that of all urban surveys. In the context of deepening external adverse effects and facing many challenges in economic operation, China's employment situation has remained overall stable, and the employment of key groups continues to improve, playing an important role in ensuring people's livelihoods and promoting development.
Fourthly, there has been a positive change in prices. The consumer price index for residents has shifted from a decrease to an increase, with a year-on-year increase of 0.2% in October and a decrease of 0.3% last month. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased by 1.2% year-on-year, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth expansion. The decline in ex factory prices for industrial producers has continued to narrow, with PPI decreasing by 2.1% year-on-year in October, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, and narrowing for three consecutive months. The effect of regulating market competition order is evident, with prices in industries such as lithium-ion battery manufacturing, photovoltaic equipment and component manufacturing rising by 0.2% and 0.6% respectively month on month in October.
Fifth, the trend of transformation and upgrading continues. The growth of high-tech manufacturing industry is good, with the added value of high-tech manufacturing industry above designated size increasing by 7.2% year-on-year in October, continuing to grow faster than the growth of industrial enterprises above designated size; From the perspective of exports, the export value of high-tech products increased by 7.3% in the first 10 months. The modern service industry has developed well. In October, the production index of information transmission software and information technology services, leasing and business services increased by 13% and 8.2% respectively year-on-year, continuing to maintain rapid growth. The integration of data and reality is steadily advancing. In October, the added value of digital product manufacturing industry above designated size increased by 6.7% year-on-year. From January to October, the online retail sales of physical goods increased by 6.3%. The effectiveness of green transformation is evident, with the production of green products such as new energy vehicles and lithium-ion batteries for automobiles increasing by 19.3% and 30.4% respectively in October.
However, it should also be noted that the international environment remains complex and severe, with many unstable and uncertain factors, domestic cyclical structural contradictions intertwined, and economic operations still facing many challenges. In the next stage, we must deeply study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, continue to accurately implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee, focus on stabilizing employment, enterprises, markets, and expectations, stabilize the economic foundation, strengthen the cultivation of new quality productive forces, and promote sustained and healthy economic development.