Growth slipped from the 0.5pc recorded in the first quarter and has grown just 0.7pc over the past 12 months - the lowest since the fist quarter of 2010.

Growth in shipments of the merged company slipped to 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2005, compared with growth of about 15 percent in the second half of 2004, combining sales of both companies, according to IDC, a research firm.

Publishers Have a Reading List Chinese Economic Growth Slipped Again in 4th Quarter Go to Complete List

Growth of Adult Women in Workplace Slips Since the mid-1990's, the growth in the percentage of adult women working outside the home has stalled, even slipping somewhat in the last five years and leaving it at a rate well below that of men.