China: IMF Forecasts 4.8% Growth in 2024

China's youth unemployment rate is falling

China’s economy will grow by 4.8% this year and is expected to slow by 0.3% in 2025 to 4,5%. China’s economy grew by 5.2% in 2023, but the trade and technology “wars” have hit hard both the manufacturing sector and China’s foreign trade. These estimates were published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook report, released on Tuesday, October 22.

IMF analysts lowered the forecast for 2024 by 0.2% from the July update, while the forecast for 2025 remained unchanged. In addition to geopolitical tensions, IMF experts attributed the expected slowdown in economic growth to “persistent weakness in the real estate sector” and “low consumer confidence.”

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) released updated data on youth unemployment in the 16 to 24 age group. The unemployment rate fell from 18.8% recorded in August 2024 to 17.6% in September. As for unemployment in the 25 to 29 age group, the rate was 6.7% last month and 3.9% for people between 30 and 59.