China Youth Jobless Rate Hits 3-Month Low

China’s urban youth unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds, excluding students, declined to 17.7% in September 2025, down from August’s 18.9%, which was the highest level since December 2023, and slightly above 17.6% a year earlier. This marked the lowest level since June, when industrial production expanded by 6.5% year-on-year in September, the strongest increase in three months. 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.