Youth unemployment in China jumps to 17.1pc in July

China's slowing economy has left millions of young people competing for an ever-slimming raft of jobs and facing an increasingly uncertain future. [AFP]

Youth unemployment in China ticked up to 17.1 per cent in July, official figures showed, the highest level this year as the world's second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds.

China is battling soaring joblessness among young people, a heavily indebted property sector and intensifying trade issues with the West.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is responsible for economic policy, called Friday for struggling companies to be "heard" and "their difficulties truly addressed," according to the state news agency Xinhua.

The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was up markedly from June's 13.2 per cent.

The closely watched metric peaked at 21.3 per cent in June of 2023, before authorities suspended publication of the figures and later changed their methodology to exclude students.

Nearly 12 million students graduated from Chinese universities this June, heightening competition in an already tough job market and likely explaining July's sharp increase in joblessness.

In May, President Xi Jinping said countering youth unemployment must be regarded as a "top priority."

Disappointing data

Among 25- to 29-year-olds, the unemployment rate stood at 6.5 per cent for July, up from the previous month's 6.4 per cent.

For China's workforce, the national unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent.

However, the NBS figures paint an incomplete picture of China's overall employment situation, as they take only urban areas into account.

The new unemployment figures come on the heels of other disappointing economic data from Beijing, including figures showing dampened industrial production, despite recent government measures aimed at boosting growth.

Industrial production growth weakened in July, with the month's 5.1% expansion down from June's 5.3 per cent and falling short of analysts' predictions.

China's major cities also recorded another decline in real estate prices last month, a sign of sluggish demand.

Demand for bank loans also contracted for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to official figures published earlier this week.

International challenges are also mounting, with the European Union and the United States increasingly imposing trade barriers to protect their markets from low-cost Chinese products and perceived unfair competition.