Jan. 23 (Asia Today) -- China's youth unemployment rate remained elevated in December but declined for a fourth consecutive month, offering limited signs of improvement amid continued labor market pressure on young job seekers.
The unemployment rate for urban residents aged 16 to 24, excluding students, stood at 16.5% in December, down 0.4 percentage points from November, according to data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics. Despite the decline, the figure remains in double digits, underscoring ongoing employment challenges.
The rate had fallen to 14.5% in June last year before rebounding sharply, peaking at 18.9% in August. It then eased to 17.7% in September, 17.3% in October and 16.9% in November, marking December as the lowest level recorded since the second half of last year.
By age group, unemployment among those aged 25 to 29 declined by 0.3 percentage points to 6.9% in December, while the rate for those aged 30 to 35 edged up 0.1 percentage points to 3.9%. China's overall urban unemployment rate came in at 5.1%, below a government forecast of 5.5%.
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