National Bureau of Statistics data show that the urban unemployment rate for the first half of 2022 was 5.7 percent, and even reached 19.3 percent in June for those aged between 16 and 24.

However, data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security suggest that for every 100 job seekers in 100 cities, there are 137 vacancies in the service sector. So where does the problem lie?

A look at the job vacancy structure might offer some hints. Of every 100 job vacancies, 36 are in the manufacturing sector, 36 in the social services and family service sector, and 24 are technician jobs.

In other words, the service sector, involving jobs of restaurant waiters and security guards, and the manufacturing sector, with its labor-intensive plants, need more people. The upgraded manufacturing sector, too, needs more professional talents, but the labor market cannot provide as many hands.

Even in Guangdong and Shandong provinces, which have over 100 million permanent residents, there is a shortage of labor in the manufacturing sector. Guangdong relies on inflow of labor, while 18.12 percent of industrial enterprises in Shandong said they lack workers.

According to the MHRSS, there was a shortfall of 19 million laborers in 10 key sectors of the domestic manufacturing industry in 2020, and it might touch 30 million in 2025.

Clearly, there is no dearth of jobs, but the young are unwilling to take up these jobs. Most young people find manufacturing industry jobs rather tiring.

Besides, most factories are in suburban regions, forcing employees to live far from their homes, another reason why such jobs find few takers.

The service sector is no more lucrative, given the heavy labor and poor payment. What is thus needed is to improve the working conditions and payment in both sectors, so that the young can have a vocation and the industries their much-needed labor force. Only when the two are matched will China's economy prosper.