Unemployment spikes for key Chinese age group as AI use spreads

Poorer outcomes for people at the onset of their careers could represent the culmination of pressures on younger workers that have been building in China since the pandemic in 2020 and are now made worse by AI-powered systems – especially when it comes to the prospects for entry-level positions. — Photo by Simon L on Unsplash

An unexpected deterioration in China’s labour market has reached the key demographic of early-career workers, as seasonal pressures amplified spillovers from the war in Iran while wider use of artificial intelligence raises risks for employment. 

The latest batch of official statistics this week revealed the jobless rate climbed to 7.7% in March for 25- to 29-year-olds. That’s up from 7.2% a year ago and the highest since the National Bureau of Statistics revamped its employment data more than two years ago, when it also started to treat that age group as a separate category.