China's June Urban Unemployment Falls to 5% as Employment-First Push Gains Traction
Updated
Updated · China Daily · Jul 16
China's June Urban Unemployment Falls to 5% as Employment-First Push Gains Traction
3 articles · Updated · China Daily · Jul 16
Summary
China's surveyed urban unemployment rate fell to 5% in June, down 0.1 percentage point from May and the lowest reading of 2026 after a 5.4% peak in March.
The decline extended a three-month easing trend that officials linked to an employment-first strategy, after March's rise was attributed to a seasonal post-holiday influx of migrant job seekers.
The first-half average held at 5.2%, unchanged from a year earlier, keeping Beijing on track to meet its annual target of about 5.5%, while the rate in 31 major cities also eased to 5%.
By end-June, 192.27 million rural migrant workers were employed outside their hometowns, up 0.5% year on year, with June jobless rates at 5% for local workers and 4.8% for rural migrants.
Beijing is embedding that trend in a 2026-30 plan that aims to keep urban unemployment below 5.5%, help 25 million unemployed people return to work and provide subsidized training to more than 50 million people.