What’s new: China’s youth unemployment rate continued to fall in June to its lowest level since a new method for compiling data was introduced in January.
The jobless rate for people aged between 16 and 24 was 13.2% in June, down from 14.2% in May, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Wednesday.
The June figure marked a third monthly drop but is still more than double the overall unemployment rate of 5%.
The unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 29 fell 0.2 percentage point to 6.4%, while for those between 30 and 59 the figure remained unchanged for the third month at 4%.
Background: China’s job market has been under pressure, particularly for graduates, as the economy struggles with a slow post-pandemic recovery and a prolonged property slump.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate for people aged between 16 and 24 hit a record high of 21.3% in June last year before the release of the data was suspended. It resumed in January after the introduction of a revamped methodology, which includes those aged between 16 and 24 but excludes students.
The youth jobless rate, first issued in 2018, tends to fall in winter and rise in summer, as pupils leave school and look for jobs. With 11.8 million graduates expected to enter the job market this year, increasing unemployment among highly educated workers has been a concern for Chinese policymakers.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)
