China's massive unemployment amid Covid as 20 million out of jobs: Report

Unemployment In China: About one out of five Chinese are out of jobs due to severe unemployment as a result of the Covid pandemic.

About 20 million people aged 16 to 24 in China are out of work in cities and towns, according to a report. The official data put the urban youth population at 107 million which does not include rural unemployment, CNN reported.

Unemployment In China: Masked commuters walk through a walkway in between two subway stations as they head to work. (AP)

About one out of five Chinese are out of jobs due to severe unemployment as a result of the Covid pandemic as the country faces an economic down-spiral as top companies operating in China laid off their employees, the report said.

A Xiaomi spokesperson told CNN that the company conducted a "routine personnel optimization and organizational streamlining" adding that the measure affected less than 10 per cent of the company's workforce. One of the world's largest smartphone makers, Xiaomi, has also been laying off its employees.

According to documents, Xiaomi in the first nine months of 2022, reduced its workforce by nearly 1,900.

"The situation could become worse next year, as 11.6 million college graduates are expected to enter the job market, a fresh record, according to the education ministry last month," CNN reported.

According to The Hong Kong Post, "The youth unemployment rate in China has hit new highs this year, rising from 15.3 per cent in March to a record 18.2 per cent in April. It continued to climb for the next few months, reaching 19.9 per cent in July. The rate fell slightly to 18.7 per cent in August, but still remains among the highest ever, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed."

"This is certainly China's worst job crisis for young people in over four decades. Mass unemployment is a big challenge for the Communist Party," said Willy Lam, a senior fellow of the Jamestown Foundation, as quoted by The Hongkong Post.

A recent The Star report said that as per projections released by the United Nations, China's working-age population, defined as those aged between 15 and 64, will start declining rapidly in the 2030s and will shrink by more than 60 per cent to 378 million by the end of the century.

The country's working-age population declined from 997 million in 2014 to 986 million in 2021. (ANI)