18.11.202509:07:18UTC+00China Youth Jobless Rate Falls to 4-Month Low

In October 2025, the unemployment rate for urban youth aged 16 to 24 in China, excluding students, decreased to 17.3%. This is a reduction from the September rate of 17.7% and represents the lowest rate since June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. For those aged 25 to 29, again excluding students, the unemployment rate held steady at 7.2%—the highest level recorded since March of this year. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate among individuals aged 30 to 59 slightly decreased to 3.8% from 3.9% in September, marking its first decline in four months. The overall urban unemployment rate, encompassing all age brackets, dropped to 5.1% in October, down from 5.2% in September, reaching its lowest point in four months. Notably, China's statistics bureau had previously halted the release of youth unemployment figures in June 2023 when the rate peaked at a record 21.3%, later resuming publication with an updated methodology within the same year.