China’s youth unemployment stays stubbornly high ahead of crunch summer

China’s youth unemployment rate fell to 14.9 per cent in May, but remained higher than at the same point last year

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Graduates attend a job fair at a university in eastern China’s Anhui province. China’s youth unemployment rate remains stubbornly high ahead of a bumper graduation season this summer. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 2:00pm, 19 Jun 2025

China’s youth unemployment rate fell for the third consecutive month in May, but remained higher than at the same point last year, suggesting the job market is still under intense pressure ahead of a critical graduation season.

The youth jobless rate, which covers those aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas, excluding students, stood at 14.9 per cent last month, down from 15.8 per cent the previous month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

But the rate remains higher than the 14.2 per cent reading recorded last May, and is likely to shoot up once again when a record 12.2 million university students graduate and enter the job market this summer.

“China still faces pressure in maintaining stable employment, mainly due to complex changes in the external environment,” said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui on Monday.

“The coexistence of recruitment difficulties in some domestic industries and great employment pressures for certain groups persists, with ongoing issues regarding a mismatch between human resource supply and demand.”

Beijing has launched a string of policies in an attempt to support youth employment in recent years.

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