Xi Jinping's Crackdown Worsens China's Youth Unemployment Crisis

Experts blame Xi Jinping's crackdown on China's private sector for a spike in joblessness. Despite revised jobless data, youth unemployment remains high at 21.3%. Structural issues, post-pandemic recovery, and trade tensions further strain the economy, while targeted tech and education sectors disrupt job prospects.

Experts suggest that rising joblessness in China could be the result of Xi Jinping's crackdown on the private sector. The data published does not capture the real situation of joblessness in China, after questionable methodological revisions, DW reported.

China's first response to counter its record-high youth unemployment rate was to stop publishing the data. After tampering with calculation methods for six months, the data was published again, creating a false image of normalisation. Despite these revisions, youth unemployment remained problematic, with figures rising again. Last year, youth unemployment was at a record high of 21.3 percent. In response, China's National Bureau of Statistics excluded students from the employment data by December, the report noted.

In July, after months of slight declines, the youth jobless figure sharply rose to 17.1 percent again, DW claimed. Structural issues, post-pandemic recovery, and trade tensions are severely impacting China's economy. President Xi Jinping's crackdown on sectors like technology, real estate, and private education during 2020-21 further crippled economic growth and job prospects. A senior associate at Global Counsel, Jiayu Li, noted that even previous data excluded millions of rural workers who face more challenges than urban workers. The Chinese economy, no longer expanding at double-digit annually, is projected to grow by 5 percent this year but struggles to create enough jobs for millions of graduates entering the workforce.

China's tech giants, losing over a trillion dollars in market value due to reforms, and the collapse of the property sector, which affected millions' life savings, have compounded the issue. The destruction of the education-technology sector, previously offering tuition to 75 million students, led to mass layoffs. Diana Choyleva from Enodo Economics said Xi's crackdown made tutoring jobs unstable and unreliable, diminishing economic prospects for graduates. Additionally, a study found that half of China's 400 million manual workers are above 40, as young people continue to shun blue-collar jobs for high-paying white-collar positions.

Employment in the oversaturated gig economy, with 200 million workers depending on digital platforms, adds to the problem. Choyleva also pointed out that the crackdown stifles entrepreneurial risk-taking, impacting potential job creation and long-term economic growth. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)