Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang of Reuters report that youth unemployment remains a headache in China, with the jobless rate spiking to a 2024 high of 17.1% in July, as 11.79 million college students graduated this summer in an economy still weighed down by a real estate crisis. They write:
Rising unemployment in China is pushing millions of college graduates into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents’ pensions, a plight that has created a new working class of “rotten-tail kids”.
The phrase has become a social media buzzword this year, drawing parallels to the catchword “rotten-tail buildings” for the tens of millions of unfinished homes that have plagued China’s economy since 2021.
A record number of college graduates this year are hunting for jobs in a labour market depressed by COVID-19-induced disruptions as well as regulatory crack-downs on the country’s finance, tech and education sectors.
The jobless rate for the roughly 100 million Chinese youth aged 16-24 crept above 20% for the first time in April last year. When it hit an all-time high of 21.3% in June 2023, officials abruptly suspended the data series to reassess how numbers were compiled. […]
@projectbubbleburst China’s youth unemployment #lyingflat #tangping #bailan #uschinarelations #usforeignpolicy #chinapolitics #geopolitics #currentaffairs #worldnews ♬ original sound – Jerry Hong – ProjectBubbleBurst “It may be worse,” she said. “After all, there will be more and more people (in this field).”
Supply of tertiary students will exceed demand from 2024 through 2037, after which the effects of falling fertility rates will kick in and sharply narrow the gap, according to a study published in June by China Higher Education Research, a journal under the education ministry.
New college graduates will likely peak at around 18 million in 2034, it said.
Read more here.
Why China’s Gen Z’s & Millennials are Quitting – The ‘Bai Lan’ or ‘Let it Rot’ Movement
Bong Xin Ying of CNA reports that ‘A symptom of economic malaise’: China’s youths escape from urban pressures at ‘retirement homes.’ Ying writes:
Dawn breaks, warming the cobblestone paths and timeworn walls of a sleepy village in northern China. Dogs bark in the distance as cicadas buzz, while roving vendors call out intermittently.
According to 28-year-old digital nomad Xiaofei, this is what a typical morning looks and sounds like at Guanye Youth Retirement Village in Hebei, one of the many communes for young, burnt-out professionals. […]
Guanye is an example of a “youth retirement home” or “qing nian yang lao yuan” as described in Chinese media reports.
Like Ms Xiaofei, more young people have been seeking such spaces out, a trend which analysts say reflects the growing disillusionment of a young generation, as they face up to a stuttering Chinese economy, a fiercely competitive job market and the rising cost of living. […]
“This creative reinterpretation of traditional retirement reflects a broader cultural shift towards valuing personal well-being and mental health,” he said, adding that it’s to offer youths a sanctuary from their “high-pressure lives”.
Established in 2017, Guanye offers more than 240 beds across three dormitory buildings and 10 courtyards. Prices start from 138 yuan (US$19) for a day’s stay, and up to 3,599 yuan for a month.
The majority of the tenants are aged between 20 and 40, including freelancers, professionals experiencing career stagnation, and adventure seekers. It’s already fully booked for the month. […]
“I remember one of the slogans of the retirement village was ‘please lie down.’ It actually provides a chance for everyone to rest completely and guilt-free for a while.
“I consider myself someone with a sense of purpose, so I’ll just keep moving forward, even if it means worrying a little along the way.”
Read more here.
