Wed, Aug 16, 2023 page12

• China no longer releasing youth unemployment data

  GAG ORDER? Social media users were skeptical of the government’s explanation that the move was needed to ‘improve and optimize labor force survey’ data

  • AFP, BEIJING
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  China yesterday said that it would stop publishing data on its rising youth unemployment rate, as it released a raft of disappointing figures that stoked concerns over the state of the world’s second-largest economy.

  Shortly before the latest uninspiring indicators were published, the People’s Bank of China cut a key interest rate in an effort to boost flagging growth.

  

  University graduates attend a job fair in Wuhan, China, on Thursday last week.

  Photo: AFP

  DISAPPOINTING

  Yesterday’s data added to a slew of disappointing figures in recent months reflecting a slump in China’s post-COVID-19 rebound, with joblessness among 16-to-24-year-olds hitting a record 21.3 percent in June.

  China slipped into deflation for the first time in more than two years last month, due to waning consumption and flagging exports.

  The National Bureau of Statistics said that it would no longer release age-group-specific unemployment data starting this month, citing the need to “further improve and optimize labor force survey statistics.”

  “Starting from this August, the release of urban unemployment rates for youth and other age groups across the country will be suspended,” bureau spokesman Fu Linghui (傅令輝) told a news conference.

  Overall, unemployment rose to 5.3 percent last month compared with 5.2 percent in June, the bureau said.

  College student Li Nuojun said yesterday in Beijing that the jobless rate among young people had her “very worried.”

  “When thinking about finding a job, I become very anxious,” the 18-year-old said.

  The announcement that youth unemployment data would be suspended came as Beijing released a series of weak economic indicators for last month.

  Retail sales, a key gauge of consumption, grew 2.5 percent year-on-year, the bureau said, down from 3.1 percent in June and falling short of analysts’ expectations.

  Industrial production grew 3.7 percent from a year earlier, down from 4.4 percent in June.

  The suspension of youth jobs data “may further weaken global investors’ confidence in China,” Nomura Holdings Inc chief China economist Ting Lu (陸挺) said in a note.

  Chinese social media users expressed skepticism over officials’ explanation of the move, with the topic receiving more than 140 million views and tens of thousands of comments on the Sina Weibo platform.

  “Can you solve the problem by gagging and blindfolding yourself?” one Beijing-based user asked in a post liked by more than 3,000 people.

  The recent data suggest China might struggle to attain its 5 percent growth target for the year. The economy grew just 0.8 percent between the first and second quarters of this year, official figures show.

  RATE CUTS

  In a surprise move, the central bank yesterday cut the medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate — the interest for one-year loans to financial institutions — from 2.65 percent to 2.5 percent.

  A lower MLF rate reduces commercial banks’ financing costs, in turn encouraging them to lend more and potentially boosting domestic consumption.

  “We believe the Chinese economy is faced with an imminent downward spiral with the worst yet to come, and the rate cut this morning will be of limited help,” Lu said.
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