Virus-hit Chinese economy shrinks 6.8% in Q1

China's gross domestic product stood at 20.65 trillion yuan (about $2.91 trillion) in the first quarter of 2020 amid COVID-19 impact, down 6.8 percent year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on April 17.

The country's economic and social development witnessed overall stability in Q1, the NBS said at a press conference, while acknowledging that the COVID-19 outbreak had posed a severe test.

A breakdown of the data showed output of the service sector, which accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total GDP, dropped by 5.2 percent, while primary industry and the secondary industry saw a decline of 3.2 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

"The situation of epidemic control and prevention continued to improve with a basic interruption in epidemic transmission at home," the NBS said, adding that the resumption of work and production has accelerated and fundamental industries are growing steadily.

The data released on April 17 showed China's job market improved slightly in March, with the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas standing at 5.9 percent, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month.