China's industrial production increased 9.8% year over year in April but was down from March's 14.1% on-year rise, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics Monday.

The numbers were in line with market expectations, the bureau said.

Production growth slowed in April from March for textiles at 2.5% compared with 7.5% in March. Production of chemicals, metals and machinery also fell compared with March.

"The data come amid a low base last year when industrial production dropped 1.1% due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. For the first four months of the year, industrial output jumped by 20.3%, the bureau said.

China's economy showed a steady improvement in April, but new problems are also emerging, bureau representative Fu Linghui said Monday. "The foundations for the domestic economic recovery are not yet secure," he said.

"Production demand continued to grow...and the economy continued to stabilize and resume development," the bureau added. But it said the international epidemic remained "complicated and the recovery of the world economy is very uneven."

Capital Economics said on-year growth in all production sectors partly reflected "a less flattering base for comparison. But current momentum in output and consumption was also a bit softer. We think growth will remain modest throughout the rest of this year as activity drops back to its pre-virus trend following the withdrawal in policy support."

"The headline growth rates don't tell us much about the economy's current momentum, however, since they remain distorted by base effects from last year's COVID-19 downturn," Capital Economics senior China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said.

Meanwhile, retail sales grew 17.7% on year in April - but missed expectations, the bureau said in a separate report. The rise follows a 34.2% jump a month earlier.

"This was the ninth straight month of increase in retail trade, but the weakest pace since December last year, as domestic demand consolidated its recovery from last year's record slump. Sales growth eased for all categories," the bureau data showed. Retail sales jumped 29.6% in the first four months of the year.

"A slowdown was to be expected as the initial boost from the relaxation of virus containment measures in March faded," Evans-Pritchard said.

"We think the rebound in consumption should gather pace again in the coming months as the labor market continues to tighten."

Although China's strong economic figures are in part attributable to last year's low base of comparison due to the virus outbreak, they show that recovery continues, with a broader rebound, several economists said Monday.

In employment news, unemployment in China in April decreased to 5.10% from 5.30% in March.