(Bloomberg) -- China reported its lowest youth unemployment rate last month since a new methodology was introduced in January.
Joblessness declined for a third straight month to reach 13.2% for people between 16 and 24 years old, compared with 14.2% in May, according to data released Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics. It’s still more than double the overall unemployment rate.
The statistics bureau didn’t provide any explanation accompanying the youth jobless figures.
Beijing stopped publishing data on youth unemployment last summer after the number hit a historic high. Officials resumed the release in January under a new methodology that excludes students, saying it more accurately reflects the size of the workforce.
In May, President Xi Jinping pledged to prioritize youth employment and direct more resources to job creation, bolstering expectations for reforms in the labor market at the one-in-five-year Third Plenum, which kicked off on Monday.
China’s growth unexpectedly slowed to the weakest pace in five quarters as faltering consumer spending undermined an export boom, putting pressure on policymakers to step up support.
The youth jobless rate overall has climbed in recent years as the job market has deteriorated and employers have pulled back on hiring. That’s exacerbated a structural mismatch, as graduates primarily seek white-collar jobs while factories struggle to hire.
Regulatory crackdowns in recent years on sectors ranging from technology to private tutoring — once lucrative industries for many young people — have also had an impact.
Almost 11.8 million graduates will enter China’s job market this year, up 2% over last year, Xinhua reported in December, citing data from the Ministry of Education.
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