China’s residents’ job satisfaction index drops to 15-year low in the fourth quarter of 2024.

China’s economy continues to decline, with frequent reports of layoffs and salary cuts across various industries. The latest data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the employment perception index for urban residents dropped to 30%, hitting a new low in over 15 years.

On March 21, the People’s Bank of China released survey reports on bankers, entrepreneurs, and urban residents for the third and fourth quarters of last year. The report revealed that in the fourth quarter of last year, the employment perception index for urban residents plummeted to 30%, marking a new low in over 15 years.

According to reports from Reuters, the survey report on urban residents in China in the fourth quarter of 2024 showed that the employment perception index for that quarter was 30.0%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter, hitting its lowest point since the second quarter of 2009. In the fourth quarter of last year, the employment expectation index was 41.5%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous quarter; while in the third quarter of last year, the employment expectation index was 41.3%, reaching the lowest point recorded since 2009.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the income perception index was 46.0%, a 0.3 percentage point increase from the previous quarter; the income confidence index was 45.1%, reflecting a weakening trend for seven consecutive quarters.

On March 20, the National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China released data on the unemployment rates by age group. In February, the unemployment rate for non-students aged 16 to 24 in urban areas nationwide was 16.9%, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from January, reaching a four-month high; for non-students aged 25 to 29, the unemployment rate rose from 6.9% to 7.3%, hitting a new high in 15 months; and for non-students aged 30 to 59, the unemployment rate increased from 4% to 4.3%.

On March 17, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that in February, the national surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.4%, a 0.2 percentage point increase from the previous month, reaching the highest level in two years; the average for January and February was 5.3%. Furthermore, the urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities in February was 5.2%, the highest in six months. Given the Chinese Communist Party’s history of lying and covering up the truth, there are widespread doubts about the accuracy of the official CCP unemployment data, suggesting that the situation may be even worse than reported.