Youth Unemployment Hits High in China

Youth unemployment in urban areas of China hit a new high of 21.3 percent in June, according to data released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. This is the highest level since 2018, when China first started announcing the figures. Unemployment among 16-to-24-year-olds in urban areas has been a growing problem in recent years, having risen from 13.9 percent in July 2019 to 16.8 percent in July 2020, and 19.9 percent in July 2022.

Rates tend to fluctuate over the year, and normally peak in July in China. This is due to a large number of graduates entering the job market at this time - a growing cohort who, according to Statista’s Greater China Senior Researcher Christian Textor, often do not “fit the demand for more practically skilled work in the job market.”

But, as Textor explains, this is just one of several factors at play. “If you ask me, the high figures may be very representative of the bad situation of the economy at the moment: Covid-related after effects, a bad global economic situation, government pressure on the IT service sector, real estate crisis, geopolitical effects”, he said.

Afterall, wider trends show that the overall number of employed people in urban areas in China declined last year for the first time since 1962. This was due to a decrease in employment of privately owned companies and self-employment, many of whom were affected by strict Covid-measures. Employment in privately owned companies and self-employment accounts for more than 50 percent of total employment in urban areas.

Texter adds: “While it is clear that employment is still under pressure, it is worth noting here that since the figures are as of the end of the year (when the first big Corona wave hit China after lifting the restrictions), it is difficult to judge how much of the employment slump was Corona-related and how much was to blame on other factors.”

Unemployment for 16-to-24-year-olds was well above the national average of people living in cities who are out of work, which was 5.2 percent in June. Meanwhile, unemployment for 24-to-59-year-olds remained lower at 4.1 percent.