The economy of North China's Shanxi province maintained steady growth in the first eight months of this year, according to Shanxi Statistics Bureau on Sept 18.

The growth rates of major economic indicators such as industry, investment, and consumption have all exceeded the national average.

From January to August, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size – those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($3.09 million) or more – in Shanxi increased 14.3 percent year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points higher than the national growth rate. 

Fixed asset investment rose 13.8 percent year-on-year, 4.9 percent higher than the national level. Investment in the private sector, infrastructure, and real estate development maintained rapid growth as well.

Total retail sales of consumer goods were valued at 494.62 billion yuan, up 24.9 percent year-on-year, 6.8 percentage points higher than the national average.

In addition, Shanxi's fiscal revenue rebounded rapidly, with the general public budget revenue increasing 21.5 percent year-on-year to 188.32 billion yuan. 

The employment situation has also seen improvement: the number of new urban employees was 414,000, an increase of 77,000 year-on-year and fulfilling 92.0 percent of the annual target, while the number of new rural employees was 403,000, up 148,000 year-on-year and exceeding the annual target ahead of schedule.