ExplainerChina jobs: how much employment pressure is the world’s second-largest economy facing?

Surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5 per cent in October, unchanged from September, but other indicators suggest pressure on the job market remains

Jobless rate for 16 to 24 age group had climbed to an all-time high of 21.3 per cent in June, but the release of the official data was halted

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China’s jobless rate for 16 to 24 age, meanwhile, had climbed to an all-time high of 21.3 per cent in June before the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stopped releasing the data in August. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:30am, 30 Nov 2023

While China’s recovery this year has been largely driven by consumption, the prolonged downturn in the property market and fragile business confidence is expected to further weigh on employment prospects.

What does official data say about China’s job market?

China’s surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5 per cent in October, unchanged from September.

This year, the rate had peaked at 5.6 per cent in February, but it has now fallen to its lowest level since November 2021.

It had risen as high as 6.1 per cent in April 2022 after strict coronavirus lockdowns and control measures had affected many regions, including in the international hub of Shanghai.

China’s jobless rate for 16 to 24 age group, meanwhile, had climbed to an all-time high of 21.3 per cent in June before the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stopped releasing the data from July, citing the need for labour-force survey statistics to be “further improved and optimised”.

NBS spokeswoman Liu Aihua said in October that the job market for college graduates was expected to improve, but declined to provide a specific timetable for resuming the release of the youth unemployment data.

Has China’s job market really improved?

Despite NBS figures showing signs of improvement, other indicators have suggested that the pressure on the job market remains.