Labour · East Asia & Pacific · Upper-middle income
China: the labour market
Labour force is 768m (2025), 1st of 187 in the world and 1st of 29 in East Asia & Pacific. Participation rate is 64.6% (2025), 68th of 187 in the world and 14th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific. Women's participation is 59.1% (2025), 54th of 187 in the world and 11th of 29 in East Asia & Pacific.
Labour force
China
Participation rate
ChinaEast Asia & PacificUpper-middle incomeWorld
12 indicators
Labour: China in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within East Asia & Pacific; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 768m2025 | 1/187 | 1/29 | 707m | 774m | 761m | −1.7%since 2015 | 1.3bn | 1.5bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 64.6%2025 | 68/187 | 14/29 | 74.2% | 71.0% | 65.7% | −4.7 ppsince 2015 | 65.2% | 62.7% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 59.1%2025 | 54/187 | 11/29 | 67.9% | 63.7% | 59.7% | −3.5 ppsince 2015 | 58.1% | 53.4% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 61.6%2025 | 61/187 | 16/29 | 71.8% | 67.7% | 62.4% | −4.5 ppsince 2015 | 62.7% | 59.5% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 4.6%2025 | 112/187 | 10/29 | 3.3% | 4.5% | 5.0% | ±0.0 ppsince 2015 | 3.8% | 5.2% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 4.0%2025 | 129/187 | 11/29 | 2.8% | 3.9% | 4.3% | ±0.0 ppsince 2015 | 3.4% | 5.1% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 15.8%2025 | 73/187 | 4/29 | 6.8% | 9.8% | 12.7% | +5.1 ppsince 2015 | 12.5% | 15.6% | 13.4% | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 62.3%2025 | 104/187 | 15/29 | 48.3% | 55.5% | 60.5% | +3.8 ppsince 2015 | 61.0% | 61.3% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 33.4%2025 | 82/187 | 16/29 | 48.0% | 40.5% | 35.4% | −4.0 ppsince 2015 | 35.3% | 34.8% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 21.7%2025 | 81/187 | 16/29 | 50.0% | 36.7% | 23.6% | −6.6 ppsince 2015 | 21.7% | 19.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 31.8%2025 | 13/187 | 2/29 | 24.6% | 28.7% | 31.1% | +2.5 ppsince 2015 | 28.5% | 27.7% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 46.5%2025 | 142/187 | 23/29 | 25.3% | 34.6% | 45.3% | +4.1 ppsince 2015 | 49.9% | 52.4% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Wage workers+3.8 pp62.3% in 2025
- Vulnerable employment−4.0 pp33.4% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−3.5 pp59.1% in 2025
- Employment rate−4.5 pp61.6% in 2025
- Youth unemployment+5.1 pp15.8% in 2025
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
China and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with China. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | China | India | Pakistan | Russia | Japan | Vietnam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 768m2025 | 618m2025 | 85.2m2025 | 72.8m2025 | 69.5m2025 | 57.0m2025 |
| Participation rate | 64.6%2025 | 55.7%2025 | 52.3%2025 | 61.1%2025 | 63.4%2025 | 72.8%2025 |
| Women's participation | 59.1%2025 | 32.4%2025 | 24.0%2025 | 54.5%2025 | 55.9%2025 | 68.6%2025 |
| Employment rate | 61.6%2025 | 53.3%2025 | 49.5%2025 | 59.8%2025 | 61.9%2025 | 71.7%2025 |
| Unemployment | 4.6%2025 | 4.2%2025 | 5.4%2025 | 2.1%2025 | 2.5%2025 | 1.5%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 4.0%2025 | 4.1%2025 | 6.9%2025 | 2.2%2025 | 2.3%2025 | 1.4%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 15.8%2025 | 16.0%2025 | 9.6%2025 | 7.6%2025 | 3.9%2025 | 6.2%2025 |
| Wage workers | 62.3%2025 | 25.1%2025 | 43.0%2025 | 93.7%2025 | 90.9%2025 | 46.7%2025 |
| Vulnerable employment | 33.4%2025 | 71.6%2025 | 55.5%2025 | 4.9%2025 | 7.5%2025 | 51.4%2025 |