China’s youth employment rate improves

China’s job market has been operating steadily over the last 11 months, with a slight drop in the unemployment rate among young people, according to an official.

The nation’s surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas averaged around 5.1 percent in the past 11 months, dropping 0.1 percentage point year-on-year. Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate was about 5 percent in urban areas in November, the same as the previous month.

“The youths’ surveyed unemployment rate was also decreasing,” said Fu Linghui, spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics, at a news conference in Beijing on Monday. However, he did not disclose further information regarding the youths’ employment situation in November.

According to figures from the NBS, unemployment rate of young people aged between 16 and 24 saw a continuous fall in September and October, with the number staying around 17.6 percent and 17.1 percent in the two months respectively. The calculation did not include students in schools.

Fu said the stable operation of the job market is thanks to the bettering economy and more sound government policies on employment promotion.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently unveiled a program focusing on the employment of college graduates. The ministry, human resources bureaus of all levels and human resources agencies will organize job fairs, and other diversified events like job-seeking guidance to ensure that job services are available to young graduates during the monthlong program starting from Dec 1.