A record number of students will graduate in China next year as Beijing struggles to put the world’s second-largest economy on firmer ground.

The the Ministry of Education anticipates a record 12.22 million graduates, a figure larger than the population of Ohio and 430,000 more than this year’s graduation total, which also set a record.

This will further strain an already saturated labor market amid the continued economic uncertainty that has characterized China’s post-pandemic recovery, inspiring young Chinese to describe this period as the “garbage time of history”.

The country’s housing market continues to slide, and industries like Big Tech and tutoring, which were once heavily recruiting fresh graduates, have not fully recovered from the president’s regulatory crackdown. Xi Jinping.

Bureau of Statistics of China reported an unemployment rate of 17.6 percent for residents aged 16 to 24 in September, down from 18.8 percent in August.

Total unemployment was 5 percent last month, down 0.1 points from September, the bureau said reported on Friday.

In particular, China has temporarily stopped updating its youth unemployment statistics for six months after reaching a record 21.3 percent in June 2023. Analysts have cast doubt on the relative improvements since January, when reports resumed with a new methodology that excludes students.

China’s unemployment reports also exclude those living in rural areas and those who have given up looking for work, but also include urban dwellers who work just one hour a week.

Universities and local governments across the country have held 55,000 recruitment events, with 10.93 million jobs, since September, state media China Daily reported.

The Ministry of Education also plans to host in-person and online events looking to hire education graduates in hopes of creating more than 180,000 jobs for recent graduates next year, according to the publication.

Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry with an emailed request for comment after business hours.

The influx of millions of young people looking for work will add further pressure at a time when many at 30 years old express frustrations about age discrimination and the refusal of younger, cheaper hires. Starting next year, China will raise the age of statutory retirement for the first time, a move that could further crowd the workforce.

But the statistics bureau’s report on Friday highlighted some positive signs for the Chinese economy.

Retail sales, a measure of consumption, rose 4.8 percent annually in October, up 1.6 percent from September and marking the strongest performance in the January-February period, which is compounded by the Lunar New Year holiday.