China labor market remains stable with 5.2% unemployment rate

China's labor market remained generally stable during the first seven months of 2026, with the average urban unemployment rate holding at 5.2%. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), this figure meets the country's annual target and remains unchanged compared to the first six months of the year and the same period in 2025.

In July alone, the urban unemployment rate was 5.2%, representing a 0.2 percentage point increase from June. The NBS attributed this slight rise to seasonal factors. For the full year of 2026, China aims to maintain the urban unemployment rate around 5.5% and intends to create more than 12 million new urban jobs.

To support employment, China released a five-year plan in July for human resources and social security development. The plan includes objectives to help 25 million unemployed urban workers find new jobs and provide employment assistance to 6.5 million individuals facing difficulties in their job searches.