Why Youth Unemployment Is Surging In China

China is facing a growing list of problems — real estate, semiconductor bans and labor market gyrations. The world's second-most populous country also has a major youth unemployment problem. China's urban youth unemployment rate has risen to 21% as of May 2023, up from 15.4% two years earlier. "Let's not forget about the draconian lockdown measures," says Fang Xu, urban sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley. "The young people are still recovering." This comes as the world's second-largest economy faces a tougher time getting out of the Covid pandemic than many experts estimated, which has broader impacts on the ability of investors to put money to work in the country, and the struggling property sector.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
02:18 — Economic weakness
05:10 — ‘Professional children’
08:02 — Beijing’s response
10:17 — What's next?

Produced by: Christian Nunley
Edited by: Kevin Heinz
Graphics by: Christina Locopo
Narration by: Jordan Smith
Supervising Producer: Jeff Morganteen

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Why Youth Unemployment Is Surging In China

[tidusfantasy]

same here... i have a degree in accounting from one of the top schools in china... After 2 years, i still couldnt land an accounting job. I applied for 500+ positions. I only got 2 interviews. I got burned out in the end, now i just work as a waiter/server in a hotel. It's not necessarily im not competent enough, but when there r tens of thousands of qualified applicants, HR can only do so much to pick their hiring. They r not gonna look at all the applications. So u really need to have some luck in China to look for the job u want

Yes i use VPN to watch youtube from china. Its common.

[Lastluke]

I think that gen Z around the world is tired of putting up with BS corporate jobs so far.

[hhydar]

I think world has become very unkind to the young graduates in every part of the world. I hope this changes as it is resulting in alarmingly high levels of depression and hopelessness among young minds whom we call our future. They are not even able to afford anything and even dreaming for them has become a painful luxury.

[markanderson]

Being a child has always been a profession I have aspired to. I actually think I have achieved it! Being an adult sucks...

[CyQ]

I am Chinese. The reason is now the China is unlike before, the crazy surge of wealth come from real estate and e-commerce is ended. Also most people are almost the same when they graduated. Those graduated students may not have the experience and skills that employers really need.

[JigilJigil]

My nephew got his masters degree in computer science from a respected university in China, he was unemployed for more than 3 years, eventually he found a job but totally unrelated to his education and with a lower salary, the job market in China is in a pretty bad situation.

[DPPZ]

Are you telling me that qualified applicants that send out 200 resumes and get no job get discouraged? Im shocked. I dont imagine firms intend to hire these people even a year after they graduate so i guess their future labour pool will be cut in half.

[cureaurora]

They don't want to give jobs to young people then they wonder why these young people don't want kids 🙄 how are they supposed to feed and educate their kids if they don't have any money???

[J.Shabazz]

“Lying flat” is a Chinese slang term that means to take a break from work or to reject the pressure to overwork.
The term “lying flat” is also known as “tang ping” in Chinese. The “lying flat” movement began in 2021.
The movement calls on young workers and professionals to reject the struggle for workplace success.
The movement's adherents are tired of the stress of working long hours and the pressure to keep climbing the ladder. Some see the movement as a warning of impending Japan-style stagnation.
The “lying flat” movement has since morphed into the more extreme “Bai Lan” or “Let It Rot”

[darkmage]

Connections and networking is the only way to get your foot in the door these days

[ernestofernandez]

The youth unemployment in China should be close to 40% because they don't include the country side young, only the cities.

[chaoticrealm]

Imagine being highly educated and your culture puts more emphasis in hiring only the fresh graduates.

[beckyluk]

I think this is a real issue in the west as well. Many of the kids graduating from university can’t find jobs. This is weighing heavily on their mental health.

[ScentlessSun]

I hope the best for the Chinese people. The world needs less struggling and hardship. Love from America.

[leili]

I'm Chinese, and I can telling you guys that's more than that, Substantial wage arrears and worker insecurity and growing corruption and government surveillance, unemployment youth it's already like 40% ，Because the statistical method of the China Bureau of Statistics is that as long as you have money in your account, you are not considered unemployed. You are counted as a freelancer. This means that if you cannot find a job, you will not be counted as unemployed even if you get dozens of dollars begging on the Internet.

[emartinternationalinc]

Since 2000, China's economy has been in a phase of continuous growth. In the past 20 years, China has not faced a true economic crisis, even during the 2008 global financial crisis. Therefore, this current situation presents a real challenge for China. If resolved successfully, it could propel the entire society into the next stage of development. Twenty years ago, China was primarily a country focused on primary processing and manufacturing, with low technological and capital thresholds. Most people could benefit from it. However, China is now undergoing a transformation into an advanced manufacturing nation, with companies across various industries upgrading their capabilities. At this stage, ordinary people may not immediately enjoy the benefits of this transition.

[RickMckee-nqni]

I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful; By Warren Buffet.

[djoys]

Bubbles burst and reality unmasked. What else.

[AmirFAdil-qqxp]

That last comment is interesting, especially since how, about 100+ yrs ago, students of traditional Chinese Confucian schools found themselves over-educated and unemployable in a changed world

[yoked]

Considering the massive demographic decline this is a really bad sign. In any other healthy economy there’d be a labor shortage and employers would be fighting tooth and nail for talented young people.