International

China’s youth unemployment rate falls in April, showing improvement in job market

Students actively talk with company representatives during the job fair at the Henan University of Technology in Zhengzhou, Central China’s Henan Province, on March 30, 2024. Photo: VCG
China’s youth unemployment rate, excluding students aged from 16 to 24, was 14.7 percent in April, down from 15.3 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.

The jobless rate of those aged 25 to 29 fell to 7.1 percent from 7.2 percent in March, reversing an uptrend and showing marginal improvement in the country’s job market.

China on Friday released overall unemployment data, showing a generally stabilizing trend.

Analysts said that China’s stable economic recovery has underpinned the recovery in the job market, while a series of targeted moves by the central and local governments rolled out in the first quarter brought new opportunities to job seekers.

The economy maintained stable growth in April, with key metrics for industry, exports and employment showing improvements from March, data released by the NBS showed on Friday.

“As the job market is the barometer of economic development, it should be said that the improving job market data is a reflection of the continuously improving economy,” Li Chang’an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Li said that although the youth unemployment rate showed marginal improvement in April, more government attention and effort should be directed to this cohort. Efforts should be made to create as many as jobs as possible, as the second quarter is typically a season when college graduates hit the job market in large numbers.

A record number of college graduates, at 11.79 million, will hit the market in 2024, the Xinhua News Agency reported in December, citing estimates. The figure was 210,000 more than in 2023.

“It can’t be ruled out that the youth unemployment data will rebound during the second quarter, so the government and relevant authorities should maintain the necessary intensity of policy support for young people looking for jobs,” Li said.

In the January-April period, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate came in at 5.2 percent, down from 5.4 percent in the same period of 2023, according to the NBS.

This year, China aims to create more than 12 million jobs in urban areas and to keep the surveyed urban unemployment rate at about 5.5 percent.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in late April that 3.03 million new jobs were created in the first quarter of 2024, signaling a good start for the country’s employment market.

Analysts also highlighted the rapid development of new quality productive forces as a new growth lever to drive up demand for human resources.

International

Chinese Government Offers Scholarships For 2025

The Government of China is providing full scholarships to Barbadian students to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in that country, for the academic year commencing September 2025.

To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must be citizens of Barbados in good health; high school graduates under the age of 45 when applying for general programmes; be 25 years old if pursuing undergraduate studies, and under 35 years old if pursuing a master’s degree – applicants must already possess a bachelor’s degree and graduated with at least Lower Second Class Honours.

Applicants must also be under age 40 if pursuing a doctoral degree and must have a master’s degree, or hold a master’s degree or that of an Associate Professor (or above) and be under age 50 when applying for senior scholarship programmes. Applications, procedures, and the relevant rules are available from www.campuschina.org or www.csc.edu.cn/studyinchina.

For more information on the scholarships for 2025, interested persons should contact the Tertiary Section of the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training at 535-0863, or visit www.mes.gov.bb. The deadline for the submission of applications is Friday, January 17, 2025. (PR/GIS)

International

People Of African Descent Take Centre Stage At UN

The start of the Second Decade for People of African Descent was proclaimed as January 1, 2025, by the United Nations General Assembly, yesterday.

The theme of the Second Decade is “People of African descent: Recognition, Justice and Development”.

The decade will mobilise United Nations agencies and the international community more broadly to focus on the challenges faced by people of African descent around the world and to promote the respect, protection, and fulfilment of all of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

During the course of the first decade, which ran from 2015 to 2024, the UN and its member states took a number of steps to address the challenges faced and promote the contribution of people of African descent around the world.

At the national level, Barbados has been pursuing reparatory justice through the work of Special Envoy Trevor Prescod. The University of the West Indies has established a partnership with the University of Glasgow that has led to the creation of a joint master’s programme on reparatory justice.

At the regional level, CARICOM has been pursuing reparatory justice through its reparations commission, chaired by Sir Hilary Beckles and through the Prime Ministerial sub-committee on reparations chaired by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.

Upon the adoption of the resolution by the UN General Assembly, Barbados’ Ambassador to the UN, François Jackman, noted: “The facts surrounding the challenges faced by people and societies of African descent are increasingly well-known and well-understood – in part due to the higher profile these issues have assumed as a result of the proclamation of the First Decade.

“This welcome proclamation of a second decade will, however, inevitably lead to disappointment if we do not provide it and its programme of activities with the support that is required. It will therefore be essential for the international community to mobilise the necessary human and financial resources to realise the promise of this second decade.” (PR/GIS)

International

PRESIDENT XI JINPING CALLS FOR AN OPEN WORLD ECONOMY

During meeting with the leaders of major international economic organizations, President Xi Jinping noted that as each economy faces its own set of challenges, it is imperative to build an open world economy through cooperation, drive development through innovation, seize the important opportunities of the digital economy, artificial intelligence and low-carbon technology, foster new sources of economic growth, and support the cross-border flow of knowledge, technology and talent. Building “small yard with high fences,” decoupling and disrupting supply chains bring harm to others without benefiting oneself. China always believes that the world does well when China does well; and when the world does well, China will do even better. For countries, economic interdependence should be seen as a good thing that enables all to draw on each other’s strengths for mutual benefit and win-win results. It should not be taken as a risk.