CX Briefing: Youth Jobless Rate Drops

A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:

Patchwork employment picture: China’s surveyed urban youth unemployment rate fell to 14.9% in May, down 0.9 percentage points from April but up 0.7 percentage points year-on-year, National Bureau of Statistics data show. Meanwhile, the rates of surveyed urban migrant and rural migrant unemployment increased slightly month-on-month to 5% and 4.9%, respectively, likely reflecting the impact of U.S. tariffs on Chinese businesses. The national surveyed urban unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 5%, unchanged from the same period last year. Historically, this is an annual trend, with the overall unemployment rate declining after the Lunar New Year holiday before rebounding in the summer as university students graduate and join the job market. But maintaining a relatively stable unemployment rate could prove increasingly difficult amid protracted uncertainties and pressure from the global market.