China has said it will stop publishing data on youth unemployment, weeks after the gauge hit a record level, in a sign of mounting pressure on policymakers as new data pointed to weakness in the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy, reports the Financial Times. The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday also unexpectedly cut a benchmark interest rate by the biggest margin since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, reflecting official concerns over a loss of momentum months after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
Beijing is grappling with a host of economic challenges, including a liquidity crisis in the property sector, a sharp fall in exports, flagging foreign investment and sustained weakness in consumption.
Youth unemployment, which China began reporting in 2018, hit 21.3% in June, but the figure was not included in a wider data release for July on Tuesday. The report largely undershot expectations and showed growth slowed in retail sales and industrial production, two intended engines of the country’s economic recovery.