China paused publishing its youth unemployment rate last year, but resumed distributing the information on Wednesday using a different metric that significantly lowers the numbers.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics has stopped publishing data after the unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 rose for the sixth consecutive month to 21.3% in June, hitting a record high. When the government suspended statistics for July, it said information collection needed to be “further improved and optimized”.
The rise in youth unemployment had become an inconvenient data point that seemed to refute Beijing’s claims that China’s economy is recovering after pandemic restrictions are lifted.
The government agency said the revised unemployment numbers do not include students attending school. After adjusting its calculation method, the bureau announced that the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in December was 14.9%.
Kang Yi, Director-General of the National Bureau of Statistics, said at a press conference that the method would “more accurately measure youth unemployment” by distinguishing between young people looking for part-time work while in school and those looking for full-time work. “We can understand the situation,” he said. Employment after graduation. He pointed out that graduates need to find jobs, but the students’ main job is “studying, not working part-time.”
He Yahu, an independent demographer based in the southern city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, believes that similarly many young people are unemployed, but changes in the way they are measured could bring down the key figures. He said he believed he had contributed to the
In another change, the Bureau of Statistics announced the creation of a new age group for measuring unemployment rates. China has announced that it will now investigate the unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 29, which had previously been grouped together as a broad group of people aged 25 to 59. The agency said the change was necessary as more young people attend graduate school before entering the job market, adding that 6.1% of 25-29 year olds were unemployed in December.
One of the challenges for Chinese policymakers is the growing number of college graduates entering the job market. In 2024, the number of college graduates is expected to increase by nearly 2% to an all-time high of 11.79 million. according to Xinhua News Agency, state news agency. The number of graduates has quadrupled since 2004.
Many young Chinese still have difficulty finding work as the overall economy stagnates compared to rapid growth in the past. At the same time, governments are cracking down on once-vibrant industries such as online education, technology and real estate, where young people flocked to find work. As a result, many highly educated young Chinese people, who were taught from an early age that education would give them the chance to lead a better life, are now faced with the reality that they cannot find the jobs they want.
“When it comes to the job market this year, pressure still exists,” Kang acknowledged. But he pointed to several reasons for optimism, including economic growth that will create more jobs. And this year, more people are leaving the workforce, primarily through retirement, than joining the workforce, he said.
“It will provide more space for job seekers,” he says.
keith bradshire Contributed to reports from Beijing.