City’s youth jobless rate soars

More than a third of those registered as unemployed in Beijing are under 35, according to government statistics, while the capital still has an urgent need for skilled workers in many technical fields.

Despite this, the overall unemployment rate remains relatively low in comparison with other areas.

Unemployed youth, designated as those under 35 years old and who are registered as unemployed, account for 38 percent of the registered unemployed population, reported the Beijing Evening News last Friday.

According to the report, statistics from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security show that 300,000 people register for unemployment benefits and help finding jobs every year in Beijing. Zhang Zude, deputy director with the bureau, told the paper that the percentage was high and should be lowered to around 20 percent.

However, the capital needs talented workers with specific skills urgently. Beijing plans to educate 400,000 people in skilled areas during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).

Almost every graduate from technical colleges can secure a job and their salary would not be lower than that of university graduates, Zhang said.

There are 17 industries most in need of trained and skilled staff, including IT, manufacturing, avionics, transportation and agricultural development, according to a report on Sina last December.

Beijing's registered urban unemployment rate in 2011 is 1.39 percent, according to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, a little higher than that of 2010, 1.37 percent.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the registered urban unemployment rate is 4.1 percent nationwide.

Unemployment is a global problem, which disproportionately affects women and the young, said Yi Dinghong, a professor with the school of labor and human resources at Renmin University of China.

"It's very likely that the youth are unemployed because they lack work experience and have more difficulty coming into the labor market," Yi said.

Some young people choose not to work, because they cannot see a future for themselves under the current circumstances in which the gap between rich and poor is widening, said Yi. This means that many struggle to get promotions or go beyond an entry-level job.

A complete vocational training system is needed so that those without a job can be trained in the fields that the capital lacks at present, suggested Yi.

"Our unemployment guarantee system is not sound for the young, and this could produce potential social problems," said Yi.