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Josephine Ma

There has been a public outcry over China’s move to stop publishing monthly youth unemployment figures.
National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Fu Linghui on Tuesday said the release of the data would be suspended from August as the way the jobless rate was calculated needed to be improved to reflect the changing society.
He said there were 65 million students in the 16-24 age group and it was questionable whether they should be included in the unemployment figures before they graduated.
Fu also said that many young people were continuing their education for longer – even beyond the age of 24 – and that the ages “youth unemployment” should cover needed to be reviewed.
Many internet users were not convinced and questioned whether the move was an effort to sweep weak jobs data under the carpet.


In the past few months, youth unemployment in China has hit record highs. It was 21.3 per cent in June, 20.8 per cent in May and 20.4 per cent in April.
But many believe the situation is much worse than this because the youth jobless rate does not take into account unemployment among rural youth. And any part-time job involving more than an hour’s work during the week of the survey is counted as employment.
Fu said last month that youth unemployment was expected to go down in August because many young people who graduated in June would have found a job by then.
The reasons he gave on Tuesday for suspending the publication of the monthly figures are lame.
The youth unemployment rate is an indicator that is used globally by the International Labour Organization, though its definition of youth – 15 to 24 – starts a year earlier than China’s.
According to the ILO, the rate refers to the number of young people in this age group expressed as a percentage of the youth labour force. Only those who report that they are without work and are available for work and have taken steps to find work in the past four weeks are considered unemployed.
That means students are not counted as unemployed, so they do not skew the figures.
What is China’s youth unemployment rate and why does it cover ages 16 to 24?
It is true that the youth unemployment rate tends to be higher in summer because graduates may be considering their options and looking for a job while applying for further study – in that case they would be regarded as unemployed, though they could end up as students again later.
If seasonal factors are contributing to the high youth unemployment rate, it would make more sense for Beijing to keep the data public to show this trend instead of abruptly suspending its release.
There is also NEET – referring to young people who are not in employment, education or training. This indicator is used by the ILO and some countries to present a more complete picture.
Last year in the European Union, for example, 11.7 per cent of people aged 15-29 were not in employment, education or training. There are no recent figures available for China, but a study – published in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2020 – citing a 2012 survey put 8 per cent of youth in this category.
Looking at the jobless data of specific age groups is important for policymakers to address unemployment, according to the ILO. The youth poverty rate and comparisons between the unemployment rates of different age groups are also important indicators, in addition to NEET.
If Beijing really wants to provide a more accurate picture, it should release more information – including all of these indicators.
Being transparent would help policymaking and win public trust. After all, it is not the first time Beijing has stopped releasing data when it came under pressure. In June, for example, cremation data was left out of a regular quarterly report, making it hard to gauge the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 at the end of last year.


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Opinion

Comment

Asia

The National Bureau of Statistics says it will stop publishing monthly rate to improve the way it is calculated
But with youth joblessness at record highs, transparency would help policymaking and win public trust


With youth joblessness at record highs, transparency would help policymaking and win public trust.


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

As I see it

As I see it | China should release more information about youth unemployment, not less

The National Bureau of Statistics says it will stop publishing monthly rate to improve the way it is calculated But with youth joblessness at record highs, transparency would help policymaking and win public trust

The National Bureau of Statistics says it will stop publishing monthly rate to improve the way it is calculated

But with youth joblessness at record highs, transparency would help policymaking and win public trust