Explainer | How reliable is China’s job data, and who is included in the unemployment rate?
- Observers have long questioned China’s unemployment data, saying it is too low and too stable, and therefore not an accurate snapshot of the job market
- China’s nearly 300 million rural migrant workers are only partly covered in job statistics, which do not reflect problems like underemployment either
As China’s economy slows, stabilising employment has become a major focus for Beijing this year.
Employment data is being thrown about as a proxy for the economy’s health. But just how reliable is it?
Observers have long questioned China’s unemployment rate. It is often seen as too low and too stable, and therefore not an accurate snapshot of the job market.
Independent analysts are particularly critical of the fact it does not fully cover the country’s nearly 300 million rural migrant workers, the most vulnerable group in the Chinese job market.
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Does China’s unemployment rate include migrant workers?
Partly. But to understand that we need to take a closer look at China’s hukou, a household registration document all citizens must have that controls access to public services based on the place to which the holder belongs.