Employment rate remains stable in 2025

China's employment rate remained stable in 2025, supported by robust economic growth and government policies aimed at promoting jobs, experts said. New industries and technologies are reshaping the job market, and policymakers are working to foster new drivers of employment growth to achieve higher-quality and fuller employment.

New figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent in 2025, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous year but within the annual target of 5.5 percent.

In December, the surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent and remained unchanged in 31 major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. In 2025, the number of migrant workers totaled about 301.15 million, an increase of 0.5 percent, or 1.42 million, from the previous year, according to the bureau.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security previously said about 12.1 million new urban jobs were created in the first 11 months of 2025, fulfilling the annual target ahead of schedule.

"Several months of the year saw seasonally higher unemployment due to public holidays and the graduation season, while most months recorded unemployment rates of 5.2 percent or lower. Overall, the job market remained stable in 2025," said Wang Pingping, director of the NBS' population and employment census department, in a signed article published on the bureau's official website.

According to Wang, the unemployment rate for workers aged 30 to 59, who account for nearly 80 percent of China's urban workforce, averaged around 4 percent in 2025, about 1.2 percentage points lower than the overall national average.

"Their stable employment laid a solid foundation for the overall stability of the job market," she said.

She added that China's large population and abundant labor resources also provide strong support for economic growth.

"As of the end of 2025, China's population exceeded 1.4 billion, larger than the combined population of current developed countries. The working-age population aged 15 to 64, in line with international standards, totaled 968.48 million in 2025, accounting for nearly 69 percent of the total,"Wang said.

Li Chang'an, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics' Academy of China Open Economy Studies, said employment stability in 2025 was underpinned by solid economic growth and a relatively complete and well-functioning policy framework to support jobs.

According to the bureau, China's GDP expanded by 5 percent in 2025 to about 140.2 trillion yuan ($20.13 trillion).

"Economic growth is the foundation for expanding and stabilizing employment, while supportive government policies serve as an important complement. Together, they played a significant role in keeping employment stable," Li said. He added that maintaining sustained economic growth and ensuring employment policies benefit the broader public will be key tasks for employment work in 2026.

Kang Yan, CEO of recruitment platform Zhaopin, said emerging industries and technologies in areas such as information services, artificial intelligence and new energy are reshaping China's employment structure and creating new job opportunities.

"In the coming years, the government can seize opportunities from these emerging sectors by strengthening forward-looking skills training and education systems," Kang said. "Greater emphasis should also be placed on the modern services sector, which plays a fundamental role in stabilizing employment, while further improving the business environment to unleash market potential."