China’s youth unemployment rate fell to 18.0 percent in September from 18.9 percent in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The rate for 16-to-24-year-olds remains high. The overall urban unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in September, down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.
The August figure of 18.9 percent was the highest under the methodology the NBS has used since December 2023, which excludes students still in school at high school and university level. That reading was also a three-year high at the time. Youth unemployment typically rises in summer, when new graduates enter the labour market.
A record before the data gap
The NBS stopped publishing age-group unemployment figures after July 2023, when the rate reached a record 21.3 percent.
China’s universities are expected to graduate about 12.7 million students in summer 2026. The article attributes the persistently high youth rate to domestic economic problems and external uncertainties affecting employment.
Pressure on new graduates
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Source: National Bureau of Statistics
