China has a new youth jobless rate. Some economists are ignoring it.

Chinese officials said they adjusted the way they calculate the rate to arrive at a more accurate figure, but economists are skeptical it will do much to dispel the gloom hanging over the economy. And some say they are still scratching their heads over how China came up with the new figure. On Wednesday, China released a youth unemployment rate of 14.9% for December, a substantial drop from the rate of more than 20% in June that spawned headlines about record high youth unemployment as the economy struggled to regain its footing last year. Chinese officials suggested they arrived at…