China's economy grew by around 7 percent in 2015, services made up half of GDP - Premier

[January 16, 2016]    BEIJING (Reuters) - China's gross domestic product (GDP) totaled more than $10 trillion in 2015 and the economy grew by around 7 percent, with the services sector accounting for half of GDP, Premier Li Keqiang said on Saturday.

The premier also said that employment had expanded more than expected with 900 million people making up the country's total workforce, including 150 million skilled professionals.

Consumption contributed nearly 60 percent of growth, Li said, at the opening ceremony for the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing.

China's fourth-quarter and full-year 2015 GDP figures are expected to be released on Jan. 19.

Analysts polled by Reuters have forecast 2015 growth cooled to 6.9 percent, down from 7.3 percent in 2014 and the slowest pace in a quarter of a century.

(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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