Lottery Sales in China Rise Amid Economic Weakness and Limited Job Opportunities

Monthly lottery ticket sales in China surged to their highest levels this year in August, amid concerns about the economy following several months of bleak data, including youth unemployment. According to the Xinhua News Agency, citing data from the Ministry of Finance, national lottery ticket sales jumped 53.6% in August compared to a year earlier, reaching 52.96 billion yuan ($7.25 billion). The rise in lottery sales coincided with largely weak economic data over recent months, and the unemployment rate among job-seekers aged 16 to 24 has drawn particular interest from policymakers. Official data shows that the youth unemployment rate in China hit a record high of 21.3% in June. Some commentators on social media linked the sharp rise in lottery sales in recent months to significant economic fears among young people. One user wrote on the popular Chinese platform Weibo, "Young people are more likely to win five million yuan in the lottery than earn five million from work." The country's statistics bureau abruptly stopped publishing youth unemployment statistics in August, stating it was pausing while officials sought to "improve" data collection methodologies, sparking a wave of criticism on social media. Another commentator on Weibo noted, "The worse the economy, the more lottery tickets are sold."