China youth unemployment nears 19% as new grads struggle

August data shows economy's lack of capacity to handle surge in educated workers

20250917N China job fair

Young Chinese gather at a job fair for university graduates in the city of Xi'an. (Photo by Kentaro Shiozaki)

KENTARO SHIOZAKI

BEIJING -- The unemployment rate for Chinese people aged 16 to 24 rose to 18.9% in August, the National Bureau of Statistics announced Wednesday, the highest since university students were excluded from the survey in December 2023.

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