SHANGHAI, China (AP) — The laid-off factory workers and slumping car sales indicated China’s booming economy was not immune to the global meltdown. New figures confirm it: China’s economy is still growing, but at the slowest pace in five years. The National Statistics Bureau said Monday the economy expanded by just 9 percent in the third quarter, the slowest rate since 2003, when growth plummeted during the SARS outbreak. By comparison, the economy grew 10.6 percent in the first quarter and 10.1 percent in the second quarter of 2008.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]