The release of youth unemployment figures was suspended to shore up confidence and avoid excessive market volatility

　　China (CHN) will suspend data on soaring youth unemployment, which could help boost confidence and avoid excessive volatility in financial markets.

　　The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said at a news conference on Tuesday that the unemployment rate for 16 - to 24-year-olds will be published from August until the survey methodology is improved. That means July data will not be released. In June, the surveyed unemployment rate of the urban population aged 16-24 was 21.3%.

　　"Labor statistics need to be further optimized," said Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the bureau. "More research is needed on whether students looking for jobs before graduation should be included in labor statistics."

　　"The employment situation is generally stable, and the surveyed urban unemployment rate is basically stable," the NBS said of the overall employment situation in July. "The surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The surveyed unemployment rate of the local registered labor force was 5.3%; The surveyed unemployment rate of migrant registered labor force was 5.2%, of which the surveyed unemployment rate of migrant agricultural registered labor force was 4.8%. The surveyed unemployment rate of 31 major cities was 5.4%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The average weekly working hours of employees in enterprises nationwide is 48.7 hours."

　　More than one in five young people in the world's second-largest economy are unemployed, with unemployment hitting a record 21 percent in June. That percentage is expected to climb this summer and then into the fall as college graduates flood the job market.

　　Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at Union Bancaire Privee, said: "The lack of data will not boost international investor sentiment. We had expected youth unemployment to reach 22% in July. It looks like the actual number may even have exceeded this forecast, so it is necessary to stop the data release to avoid excessive market volatility."

　　Gary Engle, senior economist at Natixis, said: "The lack of July data will make it harder to understand the youth employment situation in China, which is an important indicator given the current economic pressures in the country. Nonetheless, if the disruption is to improve statistical methods, the damage to investor confidence will depend on whether the new data series provides a better picture."