China's youth unemployment rate in Q1 2026 was 16.4%, while the US was 8.9%. The two are not directly comparable, as the US uses a broad national definition that includes students, while China uses a narrow urban definition that excludes students. Therefore, it's best to compare China with its own past: the youth unemployment rate was 15.6% in 2024 and 16.7% in 2025. The data has not been revised upward, indicating the economy has not yet recovered.