After Covid-19, fears of social instability as China’s jobless rate peaks

FOCUS © France 24 screengrab

As China's National People's Congress convenes for its annual session, the issue of unemployment will be one of the items at the top of the agenda. In the first quarter of 2020, the country entered a recession for the first time since it started recording this type of economic data. A rise in unemployment quickly followed, with the jobless rate hitting a historic peak of 6.2 percent in February. But the real figure could be much higher, as the country's huge population of migrant workers is not counted in official statistics.

Beijing has vowed to do everything in its power to curb this worrying trend, which could lead to social instability and resentment towards those in power.

This report is brought to you by Charles Pellegrin and Li Yupu.