China’s youth-unemployment rate ticked lower in November, though competition remains fierce for university graduates trying to find work that matches their qualifications.
The jobless rate for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students, fell to 16.9 per cent in November from 17.3 per cent in October, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
The rate has eased since August, when the graduation of a record 12.2 million university students over the summer pushed it to 18.9 per cent, the highest level since the data set was adjusted in 2023 to exclude students.
The job market, weighed down by deflationary pressure and external risks, remains plagued by a mismatch between skills and vacancies, pushing many graduates to settle for blue-collar jobs or gig work.
Chen Lili, who completed her bachelor’s degree in public administration this year, began looking for a job in human resources before she graduated. Months later, after dozens of interviews that led nowhere, she is now reluctantly considering factory work.
“Coming from a rural family, I don’t have a safety net,” she said. “I’ve had to support myself since graduation.”
Chen, who lives in Chongqing, said she had noticed many openings for roles like telemarketers, but not many for white-collar positions that matched her degree.
“I’m not quite ready to accept the fate of factory work yet,” she said. “But life has to go on, and the bills keep coming. Rent, food – it all adds up.”
Xinhua reported on Tuesday that the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission acknowledged that industrial upgrading and the development of new technologies were among the challenges facing the job market.
As China steps up its industrial modernisation drive, factories are grappling with a severe labour shortage. But many young jobseekers remain reluctant to enter the sector, often deterred by a lack of specialised technical skills or the low social status of manual labour.
The mismatch is keeping pressure on the youth-unemployment rate – a trend set to persist as the supply of educated workers swells. A record 12.7 million university students are expected to graduate next summer.
Because of the fierce competition for corporate jobs matching their qualifications, many graduates are pursuing further education to delay their entry into the workforce or preparing for the national civil service exam in search of greater stability. A record 3.7 million people successfully applied to take the latest round of the test, which was held in late November.
The Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission has identified graduates as a priority group for stabilisation efforts.
“We must increase policy support, strengthen guidance on career choices and employment concepts, and support more college graduates to find employment and start businesses in urban and rural grass-roots areas and small and micro enterprises,” Xinhua quoted an unidentified official as saying.
The commission also pledged to carry out vocational skills training focused on hi-tech industries and sectors with high demand, and to promote the healthy development of flexible employment.
The unemployment rate for those aged 25 to 29, also excluding students, stood at 7.2 per cent in November, unchanged from October.
China’s overall urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1 per cent in November, also unchanged from October. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
