China’s youth unemployment rate reached a record high of 18.8% in August, as the nation battles to revive its faltering economy. According to data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, the jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24 who are not in school increased from 17.1% in July.
The carefully followed indicator reached its pinnacle in June 2023, at 21.3 percent, when the figures were banned and the methodology was altered to remove students by the government.
This June, about 12 million students graduated from Chinese universities, intensifying competition in a labour market already fraught with difficulty and perhaps accounting for the significant spike in unemployment that occurred in July.
President Xi Jinping declared in May that reducing youth unemployment needs to be a “top priority.” According to the NBS, the unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 29 increased slightly from 6.5 percent in July to 6.9 percent in August.
The August unemployment statistics are released after the government revealed unimpressive data regarding the growth of industrial production and retail sales for the month. In an earlier statement, the NBS stated, “The economy is still facing many difficulties and challenges in its continued recovery.”
“Adverse effects of current changes in the external environment are increasing, domestic demand is still insufficient,” the statement read.
