Beijing [China], August 15 (ANI): The number of newborns in China in 2023 is estimated to be between 7 to 8 million, which is the lowest tally in 85 years, Khabarhub reported, adding that the Communist nation’s economic slowdown and high unemployment have led to a low birth rate.
It reported that the birth rate has experienced a 40 per cent decline over the past five years. While in the preceding year, 2022, china witnessed a total of under 10 million births (9.56 million), marking the lowest point in 42 years
At the beginning of the current year, the National Bureau of Statistics of the Communist Party of China released a report indicating a projected population decrease of 850,000 for 2022 compared to the figures from 2021. However, this rate dwindled to 1.28 in 2020 and further plummeted to 1.15 in 2021. In response to the declining birth rates, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has relaxed birth limitations.
The reported data from the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Communist Party of China indicates that the national marriage rate is projected to reach 5.2% in 2022, marking a 42-year record low.
During the first quarter of the current year, a total of 2.107 million couples registered their marriages, signifying a yearly reduction of 1.17%.
Extrapolating from this trend, it is anticipated that this year’s marriage rate will be halved compared to its peak in 2013. Mainland media has engaged in discussions regarding the factors contributing to people’s reluctance to have children, with affordability and inadequate childcare facilities emerging as primary concerns.
Over recent years, the societal landscape in mainland China has experienced a decline, resulting in issues such as gender disparities, heightened real estate costs, and challenges in employment opportunities for the younger generation. The report said that the youth have started abstaining from dating, marriage, home purchases and parenthood amid the declining economy and escalating unemployment.
A significant portion of the joblessness can be attributed to government policies and actions, Khabarhub reported. As per Khabarhub, a recent report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Finance and Banking, published on July 11th, numerous highly educated young individuals are grappling with the challenge of securing suitable employment due to government regulations in recent years.
These regulations have had adverse effects on sectors such as real estate, IT, and private tutoring. Furthermore, China’s labour market has undergone substantial transformations driven by a comprehensive industry overhaul, said a publication by Khabarhub. (ANI)
China stops releasing figures to hide soaring unemployment
Beijing [China], August 15 (ANI): China‘s economy is on course for a severe slowdown, and the country’s sky-high rates of youth unemployment have increased. According to the Washington Post, Beijing has found a solution and that is to stop disclosing the figures. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Tuesday that it would discontinue releasing data on unemployment by age group this month after China‘s youth unemployment rate, which includes those aged 16 to 24, reached a record high of 21.3 per cent in June. Some analysts think the actual number is significantly greater.
The announcement was made in the midst of a flurry of disappointing data released on Tuesday, adding to the mounting evidence that China‘s economy is struggling to pick up steam three years after ending its isolation under the strict “zero covid” policies designed to slow the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Washington Post. Halting the publication of youth unemployment data avoids “an embarrassing monthly reminder that hurts the market,” analysts say.
Notably, the National Bureau of Statistics stopped publishing its index of consumer confidence a few months ago, after updating it monthly for more than three decades, Washington Post reported. Official statistics released last week showed consumer prices had fallen by 0.3 per cent over the last year after being stagnant for months, raising the spectre of deflation.
In the meantime, China‘s property market, which contributes up to 30 per cent of the country’s GDP, is in danger of collapsing. For the first time, Country Garden, the biggest private real estate developer in the nation, has requested to postpone payment on a private onshore bond. Just before Tuesday’s data was released, the central bank in Beijing, for the second time in the span of three months, cut key rates to bolster economic activity, Washington Post reported.
The retail sales growth remained stubbornly low in July, just 2.5 per cent, failing to meet the 4.5 per cent forecast by analysts and even lower than the 3.1 per cent rise in June, according to the official data. Local governments, historically a major engine of investment in China, bore much of the cost that came with enforcing Beijing’s strict zero-covid measures and are now struggling under a massive debt burden that, by some estimates, tops USD 23 trillion.
The move by Country Garden to extend its bond repayment has raised fresh concerns this week that the slow-moving crisis in the property sector could spill into other parts of the economy, Washington Post reported. The persistent economic challenges also threaten to undermine Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s push for “common prosperity,” a campaign to raise living standards and tackle income inequality. Despite the increasingly grim numbers, the government has held back from undertaking a large-scale economic recovery plan or stimulus effort. (ANI)
