China’s youth unemployment hit 17.1 percent in July, official data showed, the highest level this year as the world’s second-largest economy faces growing headwinds.
China is battling rising youth unemployment, an over-indebted real estate sector and intensifying trade issues with the West.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is in charge of economic policy, called on Friday for troubled companies to be “listened to” and their difficulties “truly addressed,” according to state news agency Xinhua.
The unemployment rate among 16 to 24-year-olds published on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) rose significantly from 13.2% in June.
The closely watched metric peaked at 21.3 percent in June 2023, before authorities suspended publication of the figures and later changed their methodology to exclude students.
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Nearly 12 million students graduated from Chinese universities this June, boosting competition in an already tight job market and possibly explaining July’s sharp rise in unemployment.
In May, President Xi Jinping said tackling youth unemployment should be seen as a “highest priority”.
Disappointing data
Among 25- to 29-year-olds, the jobless rate stood at 6.5% in July, up from 6.4% the previous month.
For the labor force as a whole, the unemployment rate was 5.2 percent.
However, the NBS figures give an incomplete picture of China’s overall employment situation, as they only consider urban areas.
The new unemployment figures come after other disappointing economic data from Beijing, including data showing reduced industrial output despite recent government measures aimed at boosting growth.
Industrial production growth weakened in July, with the month’s 5.1% expansion falling from June’s 5.3% expansion and falling short of analysts’ forecasts.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s quarterly earnings shrink 29%.
China’s major cities also saw a further drop in property prices last month, a sign of subdued demand.
Demand for bank loans also contracted for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to official data released earlier this week.
International challenges are also mounting, with the European Union and the United States increasingly imposing trade barriers to protect their markets from low-cost Chinese goods and unfair competition.
Source: AFP