China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published the August unemployment data on September 15 which, according to Caixin, showed that nationally, unemployment fell to 5.6%, not too far above last year's 5.2% and disclosed that only 4.8% of workers between 25-59 years are unemployed. NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said “‘The employment situation has remained basically stable. Judging from the new employment situation, it is continuing to increase.’ However, a few things are causing the leadership concern namely: 7.8 million new jobs have been created since January – 2 million fewer than last year; Urban unemployment is at 5.8%, a historic high; and Unemployment among 20-24-year-old recent graduates is still rising. A government adviser in Chengdu was quoted saying “‘China’s government-backed professional training system is a waste of public resources’ and ‘The job should be left to the private sector.’” A course participant said, “The course didn’t teach us marketable skills.”
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