SCMP skriver om de nye PMI data, som er fremlagt tirsdag morgen, at de ikke er så ringe som frygtet, men at delindikatoren for beskæftigelsen falder mere end ventet: Activity in China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly picked up in September even as factory employment slumped to a 5½-year low, a survey showed on Tuesday, a potential source of worry for communist leaders who prize social stability above all else.The HSBC/Markit flash purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.5 from August’s final reading of 50.2.Economists polled had expected factory growth to stall at 50, the level that separates expansion in activity from contraction, citing a further deterioration in business confidence and the rapidly cooling property market.But a measure of employment shed more than a point to drop to 46.9, its lowest since February 2009, when a collapse in exports threw tens of millions of Chinese out of work.
A hefty drop in employment could raise alarm bells for the government, which has indicated it will tolerate slower economic growth as long as employment is not affected.“The picture is mixed, with new orders and new export orders registering some improvement. Meanwhile, the employment index declined further and disinflationary pressure intensified,” said Qu Hongbin, an economist at HSBC.Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said at the weekend that he would not dramatically alter policy because of any one economic indicator, cooling any speculation of swift, aggressive action, but like many economists, Qu said he continued to expect China to further relax its monetary policy over time.
Most Asian stock markets and the Australian dollar clawed back some of their early losses after the report, while Shanghai stocks rose.
Despite a raft of stimulus measures earlier this year, the world’s second-largest economy has stumbled as a slowdown in the housing market further undermined already softening domestic demand, while exports have faltered.
