China's youth unemployment rate in February reached 15.3%. Although students in middle school, high school, and university were excluded from the sample in the employment rate statistics starting January, the youth employment situation remains severe.
On the 20th, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced, "The unemployment rate for youths aged 16 to 24, excluding students, was 15.3% in February, while those aged 25 to 29 recorded 6.4%, and those aged 30 to 59 recorded 4.2%."
The youth unemployment rate for ages 16 to 24 in February rose by 0.7 percentage points compared to January (14.6%). The unemployment rate for ages 25 to 29 increased by 0.2 percentage points from January (6.2%), and for ages 30 to 59, it rose by 0.1 percentage points from January (4.1%).
Previously, after youth unemployment hit a record high of 21.3% in June last year, the authorities temporarily suspended the release of statistics starting in July. China began publishing unemployment statistics based solely on actual job seekers by excluding students in middle school, high school, and university from the sample starting January.
The youth unemployment rate for December last year, announced in January, was 14.9%, with 6.1% for ages 25 to 29 and 3.9% for ages 30 to 59.
Despite changing the statistical method, the youth unemployment rate still remains at around 14-15%. This is seen as evidence that youth employment difficulties persist due to the sluggish Chinese economy.
Meanwhile, China has set an economic growth target of around 5% this year and aims to create more than 12 million urban jobs. However, competition in the job market is intensifying as university graduates flock to white-collar jobs. Without extraordinary support measures, concerns are rising that the Chinese government's plan to create over 12 million jobs may face setbacks.
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