National Bureau of Statistics · Full chronicle and history

At the September 15 press conference of the State Council Information Office, the National Bureau of Statistics announced that the average urban surveyed unemployment rate for January to August nationwide was 5.2%, with the August monthly rate at 5.3% and a month‑on‑month increase of 0.1 percentage point. The authorities described the employment situation as overall stable, prompting netizens to mock and question statistical rules such as the exclusion of flexible employment from unemployment counts.

According to National Bureau of Statistics data compiled by the Continuation Index, retail sales of automobiles by enterprises above the designated size in August 2026 stood at 327.89 billion RMB, 100 million RMB less than the 327.99 billion RMB in August 2021, representing a year-on-year decline of 18.5% and marking the 9th consecutive month of decline.

After the National Bureau of Statistics released stable data showing a decline in the urban unemployment rate from January to May, the topic "I really want to know how many unemployed people there are now" surged to fourth place on Weibo's hot search list, triggering a massive wave of netizen commentary venting about employment difficulties.

On August 15, 2023, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics announced the suspension of the release of urban survey unemployment rates by age group. Previously, the youth unemployment rate for the 16-24 age group had reached a record high of 21.3% in June. The data resumed publication in January 2024 using a new statistical methodology.