China Youth Jobless Rate Hits 3-Month Low

2025-10-22 03:36 By Chusnul Chotimah 1 min. read

China’s urban youth unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds, excluding students, declined to 17.7% in September 2025, down from almost 2 year high of 18.9% reported in August and slightly above 17.6% a year earlier.

This marked the lowest level since June.

The unemployment rate for workers aged 25 to 29, excluding students, was 7.2%, unchanged from August and the highest since March this year.

Meanwhile, the jobless rate for 30- to 59-year-olds stood at 3.9%, remaining steady for the third consecutive month.

The overall urban unemployment rate across all age groups edged down to 5.2% in September from August’s six-month high of 5.3%.

China’s statistics bureau suspended the release of youth unemployment figures in June 2023, after the rate hit a record 21.3%, before resuming with the updated methodology later that year.



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