Economic growth in China for 2009 slowed to 9 percent, the lowest rate of growth in the past seven years. The world’s third largest economy was hit hard by the financial and economic crisis that has hit the rest of the world, and western importers of Chinese goods, particularly hard.
For the first half of 2008, growth was 10.6 percent, but that slowed considerably in the final quarter to 6.8 percent. Annual growth in 2007 was 13 percent, so the 9 percent figure is a substantial drop for the Asian nation.
Ma Jiantang, head of the national bureau of statistics for China, noted in a press conference that China’s economy had experienced a number of events, from the earthquake in May to the financial crisis. He said that “In 2008, we saw an eventful and extraordinary year.”
The downturn has hurt migrant works in China the hardest. These villagers, who travel to cities to work in factories, have lost many jobs already. Ma Jiantang said that a recent survey showed that about 5 percent of these workers had lost their jobs. Some analysts expect that more will lose their jobs in the coming months.
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