China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, a senior official told a press conference on April 15.

“According to the preliminary estimation, GDP in the first quarter of this year was 14,066.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent,” said National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Sheng Laiyun.

The figure was the lowest since the first quarter of 2009.

However, he said the economic data for Q1 was expected and normal, as it was conducive to economic restructuring after the economy entered a “new normal” with a moderately slower growth rate.

Facing growing downward pressure in domestic economic development, Sheng said, China’s economy showed steady growth in the first quarter of 2015, with employment, consumer prices and market expectation remaining stable.

According to Sheng, in the first quarter, 3.2 million new urban jobs were created, while the unemployment rate was around 5.1 percent; prices are stable with the consumer price index (CPI) rising 1.4 percent year-on-year in March; the national per capita disposable income grew 8.1 percent in the first quarter.

“The key indicators are still operating within the reasonable range despite the slower economic growth rate”, Sheng said.