Young Chinese people looking for work at an employer’s booth at a job fair in Wuhan on September 2, 2023 – Photo: Reuters
stressful job search
theo reuters news agency, Young Chinese people are coming to apply for “welfare jobs” because they cannot find professional jobs. The unemployment crisis has also caused a large number of young people who wanted to attend graduate school to put their plans on hold and begin working in other jobs that do not require a degree.
In a country of billions of people, government organizations provide “welfare jobs” (receptionists, office administrators, security guards, social workers…) every year to disadvantaged groups such as the elderly or disabled people. However, most of the applications for the above jobs in 2023 will come from young people.
Even in remote rural areas there is stiff competition from Chinese youth for positions. Even students from the top universities of the country had applied.
“It’s really difficult to get a job at big companies,” said Peter Liu, a 24-year-old man who graduated with a degree in television production from a university in Beijing.
According to a survey by recruitment company Lipin, young Chinese expect the average salary for their first job to be around 8,033 yuan (over USD 1,000). However, the actual number is much lower. In this country, labor contracts lasting 1–3 years usually only provide a minimum wage of about 2,000–3,000 yuan (275–412 USD).
The 23-year-old student, surnamed Chen, said she beat out several applicants to win the secretary position at a local agricultural center in the city of Chongqing, southwest China).
The girl shared that she really wanted to become a teacher, but: “The gap between my dream and reality is huge.”
A large number of youth are looking for work at the employment fair to be held in Chongqing (China) in April 2023 – Photo: AFP
In June 2023, the number of new graduates unable to find jobs in China reached a record of 21.3%, equivalent to 11.6 million people. Following this, the country’s Bureau of Statistics was suspended and stopped publishing data on youth unemployment for four consecutive months from July 2023.
There are no criteria for short-term jobs and internships. Experts predict that in a slow economy there will be new demand for these two career options.
Government wants to remove unemployment
Mr Liu returned to his hometown in Henan province to work as a librarian for a state library – one of the jobs under the Chinese government’s campaign to guarantee temporary jobs for graduates.
Analysts say this is a short-term solution to maintain social stability in the context of a slowing economy, in which there are not many opportunities for Chinese youth.
theo reuters news agencyThe Chinese government sees employment as the key to easing the desperate situation of youth at present.
As a result, in 2022 the Chinese government eased some of the regulatory burden on technology, real estate and finance companies – places that regularly recruit new talent. Nevertheless, state media outlets encourage new graduates to take low-skilled jobs.
Campaigns run by the government of a country with a population of billions were able to provide only one-fifth of the jobs in urban areas, temporarily alleviating economic pressure for a segment of university graduates.
Mr Wang Jun, economic director of Huatai Asset Management Company, commented: “Youth unemployment will last for quite a long time, at least 5 to 10 years.” He said temporary jobs would “reduce social conflicts caused by unemployment”.
China experienced high youth unemployment rates in the early 1980s, late 1970s, and 1990s.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, young Chinese people have faced not only a lack of jobs but also many other concerns.
According to the 2022 report of the Chinese Academy of Student Mental Health Sciences, up to 42% of the youth in the country want to live alone. Due to the fierce competition in education and employment, many young Chinese people are gradually abandoning the traditional concept of “settle down and settle down”. They choose to lead a lifestyle devoid of indulgence and ambition.
(TagstoTranslate) Chinese youth
