Youth unemployment at record level in China’s economy, signaling a slowdown
China’s National Bureau of Statistics (UIB) announced data for May, which includes basic economic indicators and unemployment figures.
Consequently, while the unemployment rate in urban areas remained stable at 5.2 percent in May compared to the previous month, the youth population aged 16 to 24 increased by 0.4 percentage points to 20.8 percent. hundred.
Although the overall unemployment rate held steady, youth unemployment surpassed the record level of 20.4 percent recorded last month.
‘A SIGN OF Vulnerability’
The fact that youth unemployment, which has risen since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, remains high is interpreted as a sign of fragility in the economic recovery.
Data for May reveal that the economy struggled to maintain its growth momentum in the first quarter of this year, after the recession in the last quarter of last year.
Industrial production, which calculates the output of industrial enterprises with an annual turnover of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million U.S. dollars), rose 3.5 percent annually in May, below the increase of 5, 6 in April, according to UİB data. .
Production by state-owned industrial enterprises rose 4.4 percent, while that of private-sector enterprises rose just 0.7 percent.
Retail sales, which is accepted as a measure of consumption, also rose 12.7 percent on-year in May, down from April’s 18.4 percent rise.
The low base caused by the lockdown and quarantine measures implemented in the spring of last year due to the Covid-19 outbreak makes the annual increase in this item seem high.
INVESTMENTS ARE SLOWING ACCELERATION
Fixed capital investment, including spending on infrastructure, real estate, machinery and equipment, rose 4 percent in the first five months compared with the same period a year earlier, but trailed the 4.7 percent increase in the first 4 months.
Fixed capital investment by state-owned industrial enterprises rose 8.4 percent on-year, while that by private sector enterprises fell 0.1 percent.
In the first 5 months, industrial investments increased 8.8 percent, infrastructure investments 7.5 percent, while real estate investments decreased 7.2 percent. (AA)