(Yicai Global) July 17 -- The unemployment rate among young Chinese people reached its highest level in June since 2018 and is likely to stay high until at least August, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics said today.

The jobless rate among young people aged between 16 and 24 years soared to 21.3 percent last month, marking the third consecutive month that it has stayed above 20 percent, Fu Linghui said.

And a further increase is possible in July as graduates flock to the labor market, he said. Judging from previous years, once these graduates find work, the rate could start to fall from August.

There are still many aggregate employment pressures and structural employment issues, Fu said. But the overall situation will stay steady as the economy gradually recovers and as sustained policies to stabilize employment take effect.

Overall, the urban unemployment rate has been falling this year. In the first half, the jobless rate was 5.3 percent, a dip of 0.2 percentage point from the first quarter, according to the NBS. And in June, the rate was 5.2 percent, close to pre-pandemic levels in the same period.

Data from the second quarter shows that the job market is recovering, according to hiring platform Zhaopin. The real economy is bouncing back, many areas such as biomedicine and new energy are booming and there is an increase in spending at brick-and-mortar stores.

Unemployment among young people aged 16 to 24 years is close to an all-time high, Zhang Chenggang, director of the employment research center at the Capital University of Economics and Business, told Yicai Global. More efforts are needed from all walks of life and young job seekers need to adjust their job expectations according to the market situation. 

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor