Unemployment in China

**Unemployment** is a big problem in the People's Republic of China. Demographic factors affect unemployment, such as age and sex. The position of women in the labor market has been deteriorating, with a decline in labor force participation rate, increased work intensity and a widening gender pay gap. This makes the problem complicated.

The influence of foreign investment has greatly increased since the Chinese economic reform was implemented in the early 1980s. Since 1986, and especially since 1997, the central government's policy has focused on helping registered urban unemployed and "laid-off workers" through unemployment insurance, reemployment service centers, and employment services such as training and employment assistance. These efforts were intended to control layoffs in state-owned enterprises and create jobs by stimulating economic growth.

## Causes

- globalization, technological advancements, and industrial restructuring

- technological innovation and automation; machines and automated systems replace human workers in certain tasks

## The meaning of "people unemployed in China"

The definitions of employment and unemployment align with the standards set by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians of the International Labour Organization. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS Website), the unemployment data is compiled based on the Monthly Labor Force Survey, which covers mainland China.

The unemployment rate formula is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by the total labor force, which includes only the employed and unemployed populations, excluding the non-labor force population (such as retirees or students not seeking employment).

## Rural labor migration

The unemployment rates of every country throughout the world are strongly correlated with gross domestic product and rural and urban labor. According to a 2017 economic study, official government statistics show that unemployment is unusually low relative to gross domestic product and suspiciously stable. China's labor market was highly regulated and dominated by state-owned enterprises, with an average unemployment rate of 3.7 per cent between 1988 and 1995, but this rose sharply after numerous lay-offs between 1995 and 2002, reaching an average unemployment rate of 9.5 per cent between 2002 and 2009. These changes had the greatest impact on non-technical workers from rural area, particularly less educated women and younger workers.  As of 2018, the total number of registered migrant workers stands at around 288.4 million.

## Youth unemployment

Publishing the unemployment rate of the labor force aged 16-24, excluding students, helps to more accurately monitor the situation of young people who really need work.

China deliberately covered up negative information. After announcing in August 2023 that it would stop publishing the youth unemployment rate, China’s National Bureau of Statistics began publishing it again on January 17, 2024. However, the number was significantly lower, using a different statistical standard.

Since 2018, China's youth unemployment rate has risen sharply, reaching a peak of 20.8% in May 2022. Since the beginning of 2022, the youth unemployment rate has been rising due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the real estate recession, which exacerbated the already existing structural problems in the labor market. On August 15, 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics of China announced that it would stop publishing the youth unemployment rate.