The U.S., reeling from the coronavirus, has suffered its worst surge in unemployment since the Great Depression. By contrast, the pandemic has barely touched China’s official jobless rate, which inched up from 5.3% in January to just 6% most recently. The reality on the ground appears to be worse. Many people in China have returned to work as the pathogen subsides, but anecdotal evidence and economists’ calculations suggest that China’s labor market is in worse shape than official government data show.

Source: Wall Street Journal June 07, 2020 17:37 UTC