Job market stable as youth unemployment rate drops

China's overall employment situation remained stable in 2024, with the unemployment rate for young people continuously decreasing in the past four months, thanks to the government's supportive policies and effective job promotion measures.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Tuesday that about 12.56 million people landed jobs in urban areas in 2024, and the average surveyed unemployment rate for the year was kept at around 5.1 percent, down 0.1 percentage point year-on-year.

The latest figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the surveyed unemployment rate for people age 16 to 24 dropped continuously since September, hitting 15.7 percent in December. The rate had reached a high point of 18.8 percent in August due to the surging influx of fresh graduates to the job market.