China suspended the publication of data on youth employment figures of data on Tuesday (August 15), claiming that it needed to review the methodology behind the closely watched benchmark. This is seen as the latest move by Beijing to restrict access to key data and information.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that it would no longer release age-group-specific unemployment data, citing the need to “further improve and optimise labour force survey statistics”.
Recently, the figure has hit a record every month, with 21.3 per cent of young people jobless in June. The data was seen by some experts as a key indication of the country’s slowdown.
The NBS said that the overall unemployment rose to 5.3 per cent in July compared with 5.2 per cent in June.
As quoted by news agency Reuters, Fu Linghui, who is a spokesman for the NBS, said the release of data would be suspended while authorities look to “optimise” collection methods.
“Starting from this August, the release of urban unemployment rates for youth and other age groups across the country will be suspended,” Fu said at a press conference.
Fu said: “In recent years, the number of university students has continued to expand. The main responsibility of current students is studying. Society has different views on whether students looking for jobs before graduation should be included in labour force surveys and statistics.”
This issue, as well as the definition of the age range currently set at 16-24, “needs further research,” Fu said.
In a report by the news agency AFP, one sceptical user on the social media platform Weibo posted: “Translation: Let me find a new statistical method to lower the unemployment rate.”
College student Li Nuojun told AFP on Tuesday that she thought her job prospects were bleak.
“My major in university is in environmental design, but with the rise of AI, I don’t have much hope in the design industry,” said the 18-year-old.
She state that all her friends were expecting to be unemployed after graduating, though they still had some years of study left.
“I’m very worried,” she said. “When thinking about finding a job, I become very anxious, I just don’t want to think about it for now.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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