China's Youth Unemployment Rate in May Remains at 15.6%, Lowest in Nearly 11 Months

China's National Bureau of Statistics released data today showing that the unemployment rate for urban youth aged 16 to 24 (excluding students) remained at 15.6% in May, marking the lowest level since June 2025 and a 0.7 percentage point decline from April. Despite this improvement, the figure may rebound as a large number of university graduates prepare to enter the job market.

The National Bureau of Statistics published age-grouped unemployment data today. In May, the overall urban survey unemployment rate stood at 5.1%. The unemployment rate for urban youth aged 16 to 24 (excluding students) was 15.6%, down 0.7 percentage points from April. The unemployment rate for those aged 25 to 29 was 7.2%, lower than April's 7.4%. The rate for those aged 30 to 59 was 4.1%, down from 4.2% in April.

Although China's youth unemployment rate has declined, the number of university graduates this year is expected to reach 12.7 million, a record high. This is expected to bring renewed pressure to the Chinese job market. (Edited by Chen Kai-yu / Qiu Guo-qiang)