Report shows average age of Chinese labor force is 39.72 years old

A recent report on Chinese human capital reveals that in 2022, the average age of China’s working-age population was 39.72 years, and the average years of education reached 10.88 years. Beijing ranked highest nationwide in terms of average education levels among the working population.

The 16th International Symposium on Human Capital and Labor Markets was held at the Central University of Finance and Economics from Friday till Sunday with the China Human Capital Report 2024 released on Saturday, The Beijing News reported on Saturday.

The report estimates and analyzes the distribution and development of human capital in China, employing extensive data and diverse methodologies to systematically measure human capital at both national and provincial levels, while constructing multiple indices.

From the perspective of age-related human capital measurement indicators, the average age of the working population nationwide in 2022 was 39.72 years. According to China’s current retirement policy, the working population in Chinese mainland is defined as males aged 16 to 59 and females aged 16 to 54.

From 1985 to 2022, the average age of the labor force in China increased from 32.25 years to 39.72 years, the report revealed.

In 2022, the top five provincial-level regions with the highest proportion of the population aged 25 to 45 in the total labor force were Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong Province, Tianjin, and Fujian Province. The bottom five provincial-level regions with the lowest proportion of the population aged 25 to 45 in the total labor force were Sichuan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Heilongjiang provinces.

The average years of education for the working population nationwide in 2022 was 10.88 years.

Over the same period, the average years of education for China’s labor force increased from 6.14 to 10.88 years.

In 2022, the top five provincial-level regions with the highest average education background were Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Jiangsu Province and Chongqing, while the bottom five provincial-level regions with the lowest average education background were Xizang Autonomous Region, Gansu, Qinghai, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces.

The report further reveals that China’s total human capital reached 316.65 trillion yuan ($435.25 trillion) in 2022, a 14.4-fold increase compared to 1985, based on the Jorgenson–Fraumeni method adopted internationally in measuring a nation’s total human capital stock.

In 2022, the per capita human capital in China was calculated at 2.743 million yuan at current value, with urban areas at 3.524 million yuan and rural areas at 821,000 yuan. For males, it was 3.729 million yuan, while for females, it was 1.698 million yuan.

In 2022, the top five provincial-level regions in terms of per capita human capital were Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Shandong. The bottom five provincial-level regions were Gansu, Hainan, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xizang.

The Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research at the Central University of Finance and Economics has published the Chinese and English versions of the “China Human Capital Report” for 15 consecutive years since 2009.