China's economy kept up a steady recovery in November, with major economic indicators such as growth in consumption and investment rallying to the best levels of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

Retail sales grew 5 percent in November on a yearly basis, up from 4.3 percent the previous month and marking the highest level of the year, the NBS said.

Fixed-asset investment rose 2.6 percent in the first 11 months of the year, up from 1.8 percent in the January-October period.

Industrial output rose by 7 percent year-on-year last month, versus 6.9 percent in October.

The urban surveyed jobless rate dropped to 5.2 percent in November from 5.3 percent in October.

Despite improvements, the NBS said the Chinese economy still faces multiple challenges, citing rising uncertainties surrounding the global recovery and structural problems domestically.