Finding jobs for highly educated young workers in China is becoming more difficult than ever.
A job fair in China.
Specifically, the youth unemployment rate in China reached a record 20.4% in April. And with nearly 11.6 million more university graduates in June, competition for young people in the job market in this country of more than 1.4 billion people is even more fierce.
According to British news agency The Guardian, China's economy is in a state of imbalance between the number of available jobs and the level of education of job seekers. After Beijing abruptly banned paid tutoring in 2021, this "industry" that was once worth 150 billion USD has declined and left many people unemployed. Meanwhile, the most popular professions for new graduates - including technology, education, real estate and finance - have all faced tighter government regulations in recent years. Chim Lee, an economic analyst at the Economist Group, said that the service industries that have recovered from the pandemic in China (such as catering and tourism) have also created very few highly skilled jobs. This is also the reason why university graduates have difficulty finding jobs.
The sluggish job market has also led many highly educated young people to scale back their career ambitions in order to find work and earn an income. While there are no official figures on how many Chinese graduates are accepting jobs below their qualifications, state media have acknowledged the trend. “China’s education system is ahead of the economy, meaning more degrees are awarded than are needed for a manufacturing-based economy. There is a huge gap between expectations and the reality of the economic situation,” said Keyu Jin, author of “The New China Playbook.”
Faced with a lack of jobs for young people, the Chinese government in April announced a series of policies designed to stimulate the job market, including subsidies for companies hiring unemployed graduates. The government wants state-owned enterprises to hire 1 million interns by 2023 and has set an overall target of creating 12 million urban jobs this year, up from 11 million in 2022.
NGUYET CAT (According to Guardian, Reuters)
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