HONG KONG (AP) — China published youth unemployment data Wednesday for the first time since the jobless rate hit a record high in June last year, using a new method that showed an apparent improvement.
It came as the National Bureau of Statistics announced that China’s economy hit growth targets in 2023, following the end of the country’s years of pandemic-era isolation.
Regulatory crackdowns on sectors like technology and education, which typically employed a younger workforce, also made jobs harder to find.
“Calculating the unemployment rate by age group that does not include school students will more accurately reflect the employment and unemployment situation of young people entering society,” the statistics bureau said in a statement, adding that students should focus on their studies instead of finding jobs.
China’s overall urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1% in December, inching up slightly from 5.0% for the months of September through November.
China is under pressure to boost job creation and bolster employment, with official estimates that the number of university graduates will hit a record high of 11.79 million this year.
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