SHANGHAI: Youth un­­em­ploy­ment in China rose to 18.8 per cent in August, its highest level this year, as the country struggles to boost a flagging economy. The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds not in education rose from 17.1pc in July, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday. The closely watched metric peaked at 21.3pc in June of 2023, before authorities suspended publication of the figures and changed their methodology to exclude students. Nearly 12m students graduated from Chinese universities this June, heightening competition in an already-tough job market and likely explaining July’s sharp increase in joblessness.