China: 21.3%
In September 2023, China’s surveyed urban unemployment rate decreased to 5.0%, down from 5.2% in August. This marked the lowest jobless rate recorded since November 2021. The surveyed unemployment rate for individuals with local household registration was 5.1%, while those with non-local household registration reported a rate of 4.9%, with the non-local agricultural household registration rate at 4.7%. In 31 major cities and towns, the jobless rate dipped to 5.2% in September, compared to 5.3% in August.
Employees in enterprises across the country saw a slight increase in their average weekly working hours, from 48.7 hours to 48.8 hours. Concurrently, the total number of rural migrant workers increased by 2.8% compared to the previous year, reaching 187.74 million. Over the first three quarters of the year, the unemployment rate averaged 5.3%.
For the year 2023, the government has set a target for the jobless rate to be around 5.5% and aims to create approximately 12 million new urban jobs. [Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China]
