As China’s economic woes drag on, unemployment remains a major headache for Beijing. This eight-part series examines the range of unemployment issues facing the world’s second-largest economy, from youth to the “35 curse,” gig workers and their political impact.
In late May, Li Zuyi, founder of a Beijing-based startup, posted a part-time accountant job on an online recruitment platform. Within 24 hours, he received a staggering 142 applications.
Lee narrowed the list of applicants down to 16, only one of whom didn’t show up for the interview.
“The job market is very competitive for recent graduates,” Lee said. “It’s clear that many people are looking for employment quickly.”
There are many people with general academic knowledge, but few with the specialized skills required in various industries.
It peaked at 15.3% in February and March but has since eased somewhat, falling to 14.2% in May.
Meanwhile, the surveyed unemployment rate across China’s cities was 5 percent in May, unchanged from April.
Zhu Jiaohui, a researcher at China’s National Institute of Educational Sciences, said insufficient job demand and structural unemployment are the two main unemployment problems in China.
“There are many people with general academic and knowledge, but few with the specialized skills required in various industries,” Chu said.
President Xi pledged to make youth employment a top policy priority, stressing that a key focus should be on hiring university graduates.
China announced some aggressive initiatives in mid-June, including subsidies for companies that hire university graduates and plans to create at least 1 million internship positions per year for young people by the end of 2025.
The Ministry of Education also launched a “100 Days Sprint” initiative in May to increase job opportunities for graduates by organising company visits and strengthening internship programmes.
As of the end of May, 2,524 universities had visited companies to explore career opportunities, creating some 3.76 million new jobs, according to state media.
China also published a list of 19 new certified occupations related to the digital economy, smart manufacturing and modern services at the end of May, such as live-streaming anchors and generative artificial intelligence system application specialists.
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Why are so many Chinese young people choosing to become “full-time children” who work for their parents?
Why are so many Chinese young people choosing to become “full-time children” who work for their parents?
“If college graduates subjectively accept new industries and occupations that suit them, employment pressure may be alleviated,” Lee added.
These could provide guidance for hiring, but they need to be market-tested, Chew said.
Nine of the new occupations are labeled with an “S” to indicate they are digital occupations.
“Some of my classmates tried to find opportunities through the internet, such as bloggers and knowledge services. It was just a hobby at first, but some of them became successful later,” said Maria Yang, who graduated from a medical college in southeastern Fujian province in June.
In the long term, we need a more open supply-demand relationship
“I know the current job market is very competitive. If the job you have now doesn’t fit with your future plans and expectations, I think it’s better to wait a little longer,” said Rita Lin, a final year student majoring in finance at a university in Shanghai.
“The competitive pressure to become a civil servant or to receive higher academic training is no less than the pressure of other employment choices. At the same time, the salaries of fresh graduates are not commensurate with their hard work,” Yen said.
But Chew said the job market is directly related to the development of various industries and is outside of jobseekers’ control.
“At an individual level, we can change the way we think about employment to better adapt to real-world needs,” Chu added.
“Integration into the global market system is the essential solution. In the longer term, we need greater openness and more open supply and demand relations.”
