As the pandemic has been spreading across the country, China's industrial output grew at a slower pace in November and retail sales continue dropping, official data showed on Thursday.

The industrial output grew 2.2 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 5-percent expansion in October, per the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The output measures the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about $2.87 million).

"In November, the pandemic hit a wide range of areas and industrial production dropped, but the situation of steady industrial growth remained unchanged," said Tang Weiwei, an official with the NBS, on Thursday.

From January to November, the industrial output rose 3.8 percent year on year.

"With the implementation of optimized measures for pandemic prevention and control, along with various measures to stabilize the economy taking effect, the industrial economy is expected to continue to recover," said Tang.

In November, the output of new energy vehicles jumped 60.5 percent compared with the same period last year, while that of solar batteries increased 68.6 percent, according to the NBS.

Nevertheless, retail sales slid 5.9 percent year on year in November, continuing the 0.5-percent fall in the previous month.

Catering as a consumption with contact has been greatly affected. Last month, its revenue fell by 8.4 percent year on year.

The country's surveyed urban unemployment rate came at 5.6 percent in November, 0.1 percentage point higher than October.

The fixed-asset investment inched down 0.87 percent year on year, according to the bureau.

Last Wednesday, China further loosened COVID-19 control measures to balance the pandemic control and social livelihoods.