The National Bureau of Statistics said it had studied international practices before adjusting its methodology to better suit China’s unique conditions.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which includes the world’s advanced economies,
defines the youth jobless rate as the percentage of unemployed 15 to 24-year-olds in the overall youth labor force. Unemployed people are those who are available and
have taken active steps to find work in the past four weeks, according to OECD.
“Calculating the jobless rates by age groups that
do not include students can reflect more accurately the employment situation of youths that have entered the society,” Kang Yi, head of the NBS, said at a briefing in Beijing.