Unemployment Surge Strikes:Youth Unemployment Rate Hits Record High at 20.4%;Spark Massive Protests?

Unemployment Surge Strikes:Youth Unemployment Rate Hits Record High at 20.4%;Spark Massive Protests?

Unemployment Surge Strikes:Youth Unemployment Rate Hits Record High at 20.4%;Spark Massive Protests?

On May 16th, China's National Bureau of Statistics released economic data for April, revealing a historically high unemployment rate of 20.4% among young people aged 16-24. This worrying statistic is set to worsen with an estimated 11.58 million university graduates entering the labor market this year—an increase of 820,000 from 2022, and yet another historical record. As a surge of graduates enters the workforce, China's already high youth unemployment rate is expected to further escalate. Many Chinese questioned the official unemployment rate of 20.4%, suspecting the actual rate to be much higher. Some even estimated the true unemployment rate to be around 45%, attributing the underreported statistics to the voluntary self-reporting system and the neglect of rural unemployment rates.