China's consumer spending fell and unemployment rose last month as Covid lockdowns confined millions of people to their homes, official figures show.
Joblessness reached the highest level since the early part of the pandemic.
However, overall the country's economy grew at a faster pace than expected in the first three months of this year.
A surge in infections has triggered lockdowns in several major cities - including the financial, manufacturing and shipping hub of Shanghai.
Retail sales fell by 3.5% in March compared to a year earlier, China's National Bureau of Statistics said. That was the first decline since July 2020.
For the same period unemployment rose to 5.8%, the highest level since May 2020.
