China’s roughly stable unemployment rate is giving an incomplete and misleading picture of the labour market — and, more importantly, may be distorting the policy response, argues Zhu Tian , Vice President and Co-Dean at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), where he also holds the Santander Chair in Economics. He argues that flexible employment is absorbing much of the pressure that would otherwise show up as unemployment. Workers may remain statistically employed after moving into ride-hailing, food delivery, or other flexible work, even as pay falls, hours rise, and skills are underused. The sharp rise in unemployment insurance recipients is another sign that conditions have weakened more than the headline unemployment rate suggests.
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