Rising unemployment a key challenge for China

Rising unemployment rather than economic slowdown appears to be the biggest challenge for the Chinese economy this year, according to economists.

According to a report by China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center, over 90 percent of the 100 economists surveyed expressed the view that the growing number of jobless is the top challenge for the economy, followed by economic slowdown and social instability.

The survey, conducted in December, also revealed that economists' confidence in the economy has dropped to its lowest since 2004, when it was first introduced.