China’s youth unemployment rate hits record high again
China's unemployment rate among youth reached an all-time high in August since the revised calculation was introduced last year, adding to recent disappointing economic reports.According to the NBS, the overall unemployment rate in China for August was 5.3 percent, a slight increase from 5.2 percent in July.
For individuals aged 16 to 24, the jobless rate soared to 18.9 percent in August, marking the highest level recorded since the change. This rise is the latest in a series of unsettling statistics reflecting pressure on the world’s second-largest economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics had stopped publishing monthly youth unemployment figures in June 2023 after the rate exceeded 21 percent.
When the figures resumed in December of that year, the rate had decreased by over six percentage points, although this was based on a new methodology that did not include students. Over the past year, the number has varied as Beijing has aimed to revitalize a struggling economy that has heightened labor market concerns.
Official data from the NBS revealed that factory production and retail sales experienced their slowest growth in approximately a year last month, according to statements made by authorities earlier this week.
NBS chief economist Fu Linghui recognized the "weak" demand within the domestic economy, pointing out that "some enterprises are encountering operational challenges." These intensified obstacles come as Beijing faces a multifaceted struggle to maintain stable growth.
Among the many challenges confronting Chinese leaders are a prolonged debt crisis in the property sector, ongoing sluggishness in domestic consumption, and increasing trade tensions with Washington.
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