Why China’s Reopening Isn’t Providing Enough Jobs for Its Young

High hopes were pinned on China’s reopening from the Covid-19 pandemic as a remedy for the country’s slowing economy. But while growth has rebounded somewhat, joblessness among young people has soared, a worrying development for a Communist Party obsessed about social stability and for the economy’s longer-term prospects. The youth unemployment rate has hit new highs this year — four times the national level — as millions of new graduates entered the labor market. While Beijing is trying to encourage public and private hiring, and an eventual economic recovery should create more jobs, underlying trends could keep youth unemployment relatively high for some time.

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in China’s urban areas spiked at 21.3% in June, the third consecutive month above 20% and the highest level in official data going back to 2018. The government suspended the release of youth jobless data for the following month, saying it needed to iron out complexities in the numbers. Economists said the omission suggested the figures were particularly bad and officials were concerned about negative sentiment spreading through the country. Almost 12 million college graduates were expected to hit the job market this year, exacerbating the problem. In the US, the jobless rate for the 16-24 age group is just 8%, while in the euro zone, the jobless rate for people under 25 is 13.8%. In India, which has a similar sized population as China, the youth unemployment rate was estimated by the World Bank at 17.9% last year.