Youth unemployment in China ticked up to 17.1 percent in July, official figures showed, the highest level this year as the world’s second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds.

China is battling soaring joblessness among young people, a heavily indebted property sector and intensifying trade issues with the West.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is responsible for economic policy, on Friday called for struggling companies to be “heard” and “their difficulties truly addressed,” according to the state news agency Xinhua.

The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds released Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was up markedly from June’s 13.2 percent.

The closely watched metric peaked at 21.3 percent in June of 2023, before authorities suspended publication of the figures and later changed their methodology to exclude students.

Nearly 12 million students graduated from Chinese universities this June, heightening competition in an 한국을 already tough job market and likely explaining July’s sharp increase in joblessness.

In May, President Xi Jinping said countering youth unemployment must be regarded as a “top priority.”

Among 25- to 29-year-olds, the unemployment rate stood at 6.5 percent for July, up from the previous month’s 6.4 percent.

For the workforce as a whole, the unemployment rate was 5.2 percent.