AFP | 2023-08-16

BEIJING -- China stopped publishing data on its rising youth unemployment rate on Tuesday (August 15), as it released a raft of disappointing figures that stoked concerns over the state of the world's second-largest economy.

Shortly before the latest uninspiring indicators were published, the central bank cut a key interest rate in an effort to boost flagging growth.

The new data added to a slew of figures in recent months reflecting a slump in China's post-Covid rebound, with joblessness among 16- to 24-year-olds hitting a record 21.3 percent in June.

But the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday that it would no longer release age-group-specific unemployment data, citing the need to "further improve and optimise labour force survey statistics".

"Starting from this August, the release of urban unemployment rates for youth and other age groups across the country will be suspended," bureau spokesman Fu Linghui said at a press conference.

Overall unemployment rose to 5.3 percent in July compared with 5.2 percent in June, the NBS said.

College student Li Nuojun told AFP in Beijing on Tuesday that the rate of joblessness among young people had her "very worried".

"When thinking about finding a job, I become very anxious," the 18-year-old added.

The suspension of youth jobs data "may further weaken global investors' confidence in China", Ting Lu, China economist at Nomura, said in a note.

'Gagging and blindfolding'

Chinese social media users were sceptical of officials' explanation for the move, with the topic receiving over 140 million views and tens of thousands of comments on the Weibo platform.

"Can you solve the problem by gagging and blindfolding yourself?" asked one Beijing-based user in a post liked by more than 3,000 people.

Chinese leaders have sought to boost domestic consumption in recent weeks, with the State Council last month releasing a 20-point plan to encourage citizens to spend more in sectors including vehicles, tourism and home appliances.

The country's top brass has warned that the economy faces "new difficulties and challenges" as well as "hidden dangers in key areas".

The recent data suggests China may struggle to achieve a five percent growth target set for the year. The economy grew just 0.8 percent between the first and second quarters of 2023, according to official figures.

Dire mood

The mood among young people online and on the streets of Beijing left no doubt the situation was dire.

"Translation: Let me find a new statistical method to lower the unemployment rate," wrote one skeptical user on the social media platform Weibo about the decision of the NBS that it would no longer release age group-specific unemployment numbers.

"In reality, I don't dare to imagine (what) the unemployment rate must be. (The NBS) can't even make it up," read another comment.

"I don't release (the figures) = no unemployment," wrote one user tagged in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

A hashtag relating to the announcement of the suspension had 190 million views on Weibo on Tuesday afternoon.

On the streets of the capital on Tuesday, college student Li Nuojun told AFP she thought her job prospects were bleak.

"My major in university is in environmental design, but with the rise of AI, I don't have much hope in the design industry," said the 18-year-old.

All her friends were expecting to be unemployed after graduating, she said, though they still had some years of study left.

"I'm very worried," she said. "When thinking about finding a job, I become very anxious, I just don't want to think about it for now."

"Young people do face greater pressure in finding a job, like my cousin and his classmates, they prefer to continue their studies after college," said 35-year-old Guo, an IT worker.

"They are preparing for postgraduate exams, and a lot of them will take civil service exams."

Even for those with jobs, the economic outlook is hostile.

A 29-year-old woman who gave her name as Xue said she had friends who were struggling to change jobs at the moment.

"Some of them kept sending resumes for a month and have had several interviews chances, but the results are not so good," she said.

"The salary they could offer is average and there will be a lot of overtime work. The job market is always a rat race."