China’s youth unemployment hits 11-month high as army of graduates joins job hunt
China’s youth unemployment hit 17.8 per cent in July, the figure’s highest level since August 2024, as millions of degree holders seek work
China’s youth unemployment rate rose to its highest level in 11 months in July, as a record number of graduates enter an already shaky labour market.
The urban jobless rate for the 16-24 age group, excluding students, rose to 17.8 per cent last month from 14.5 per cent in June, putting an end to four straight months of decline and marking the metric’s highest level since last August, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.
In recent months, Beijing has launched a string of initiatives to aid graduates and other young people as they seek employment.
For instance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is running a campaign from July to December to support jobless youth and college graduates with services such as career guidance sessions, referrals and training opportunities.
“The market is quite rough,” said He Yue, a computer science graduate currently based in Beijing. After receiving her diploma from a university in Chongqing, she has spent over two months looking for a suitable job.