After four months of decline, the unemployment rate in China rose month-on-month to 5.5% in September 2022, when compared to the previous month, reports The Global Times, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The rise was due to sporadic Covid-19 cases. Meanwhile, the job market continued to improve in the third quarter compared with the first and second quarters. The national urban unemployment rate in the third quarter came in at 5.4%, down 0.4% from the previous quarter. In the first nine months the unemployment rate reached 5.6%. The unemployment rate for young people aged 16-24 fell for two consecutive months to 17.9% in September, down 2% from July.

“The improved unemployment rate was the result of efficient coordination between pandemic prevention and economic and social development, as well as the vigorous implementation of various policies to stabilise growth and employment,” Wang Pingping, an official from the NBS, said. Tian Yun, an economist based in Beijing, told the Global Times the improved situation in the industrial production and service industry job market also helped to lower unemployment levels.