Youth unemployment in China has soared to a record high as the country’s economy struggles to recover from zero-Covid restrictions.

One in five of China’s young adults are now unemployed, official figures show. The jobless rate among 16 to 24-year-olds reached 20.4pc in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, climbing from 19.6pc in March.

Unemployment among the young is nearly four times the national rate of 5.2pc.

It comes as China’s economy stutters in the aftermath of draconian zero-Covid restrictions. Officials have set a growth target of just 5pc this year, the lowest in decades.

With the economy struggling to generate enough jobs for young people, Beijing has been urging university leavers to do manual labour in an effort to bring down youth unemployment.

State news organisations have recently profiled graduates who claimed to have made vast amounts of money in low-skilled jobs.

However, the continued rise in youth unemployment shows few are following this route.