China's Unemployment Rate for Ages 16-24 Drops to 14.9%, Declining for Third Consecutive Month

China's National Bureau of Statistics released age-group unemployment data for June on the 20th (Monday). The unemployment rate for the urban labor force aged 16–24 (excluding students) stood at 14.9%, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.

According to a report by The Paper, the unemployment rate for the urban labor force aged 25–29 (excluding students) was 7.1%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The unemployment rate for the urban labor force aged 30–59 was 4.0%, also down 0.1 percentage points month-on-month.

Unemployment rates across all three age groups have now declined for three consecutive months.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the average national urban survey unemployment rate in the first half of the year was 5.2%. The national urban survey unemployment rate in June was 5.0%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.

Xiao Ning, Director of the Department of Population and Employment Statistics at the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that the average national urban survey unemployment rate in the first half of the year was 5.2%, unchanged from the same period last year. The average unemployment rate in the second quarter was 5.1%, down 0.2 percentage points from the first quarter.

Xiao Ning noted that since the beginning of this year, driven by active domestic cultural tourism consumption and the favorable development of emerging service industries, employment in the service sector—represented by accommodation and catering, wholesale and retail, transportation, and information transmission—has continued to grow, providing solid support for employment stability.

However, Xiao Ning also acknowledged that external uncertainties remain high, the domestic imbalance of strong supply but weak demand persists, labor demand remains weak in certain sectors, and the foundation for stable employment still needs to be strengthened.