China’s youth unemployment rate rose to 17.8% in July from 14.5% in June, reaching its highest level in 11 months as a record 12.2 million university graduates enter the job market. The urban jobless rate for the 16-24 age group, excluding students, ended four straight months of decline and marked the metric’s highest level since August 2024, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Tuesday. The unemployment rate for 25-29 year-olds, excluding students, rose to 6.9% from 6.7%, while the jobless rate for 30-59 year-olds fell to 3.9% from 4.0%. The majority of graduates are joining a sizeable applicant pool struggling to find positions matching their education and skill levels.