Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — China’s youth unemployment rate has reached a record high, standing at 18.8% in August. This marks a significant increase as Beijing continues its efforts to stabilize the economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that unemployment among young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education rose from 17.1% in July, according to VOA on Sunday (September 22, 2024).
This metric, closely watched by the government, had previously peaked at 21.3% in June 2023. However, authorities have since stopped publishing this data, opting to change their methodology by excluding students from the calculations.
The challenges in the job market are intensified by the graduation of nearly 12 million university students in June, flooding an already competitive labor market. This influx may explain the sharp rise in unemployment in July.
In May, President Xi Jinping emphasized that addressing youth unemployment must be a “top priority.”
Unemployment among young adults aged 25-29 also saw a slight increase, rising to 6.9% in August from 6.5% in July, according to the NBS.
The release of these unemployment figures comes alongside other concerning data on retail sales and industrial production growth, which further underscore China’s ongoing economic difficulties.
How Chinese Nationals Exploited Indonesia’s Gold for Over 300 Years
“The negative impact of external environmental changes has intensified, domestic demand remains insufficient, and the economy continues to face many difficulties and challenges in achieving sustainable recovery,” the NBS said in an earlier statement.
(Ray)
