When Yingying started a degree in medical psychology at Beijing University of Technology four years ago, she was hoping it would lead to a job as a counsellor. But when she graduated this year, she took a job in human resources that pays less than she hoped and has little to do with her qualifications.
“My specific expertise is irrelevant but psychology involves a lot of communications skills that can be useful in the workplace,” she said.
“I was expecting to earn a lot more. I expected to earn Rmb10,000 (€1,262) a month but I couldn’t get Rmb6,000 in the end. At this stage, I’m trying to earn money so that I can be completely independent of my family. I have to pay the rent and I have to buy food. It’s tough.”
Yingying is among a record 11.58 million university students who graduated in China this year, entering one of the worst labour markets the country has seen. In June, unemployment among those aged 16 to 24 reached a new high of 21.3 per cent, up from 20.8 per cent in May.
[ Chinese central bank slashes interest rates as economy slowsOpens in new window ]
[ Beijing Letter: getting exercised when the gym goes bankruptOpens in new window ]
July’s figure was expected to be even higher but on Tuesday, the National Bureau of Statistics said it was suspending the publication of the youth unemployment rate. Spokesman Fu Linghui said the statistics needed “further optimisation” and questioned whether job-seeking students should continue to be counted as unemployed.
“The main task for students is studying. There are different views over whether to include students who are looking for a job before graduation in the labour force survey and statistics,” he said.
The jobless figures are just one element in a raft of recent economic data pointing to a slowdown in China as the post-pandemic recovery falters. This week’s figures that showed industrial output, retail sales and property investment slowing down followed statistics last week pointing to weaker exports and a sharp drop in foreign direct investment.
Many graduates now view the private sector as too risky and are focusing on getting a job in the government
Some of the causes of China’s high level of youth unemployment – the comparable figure for the euro zone is 13.8 per cent and for the United States 8 per cent – are cyclical. Service industries and the retail sector which employ a lot of young people were hit especially hard by China’s zero-Covid policy which ended last December.
A regulatory squeeze targeted parts of the technology sector in recent years, which focused on everything from online shopping and payment platforms to ride-hailing services, all of which employ a lot of young people. And a partial ban on private tuition for schoolchildren has also eliminated jobs for some young graduates.
Many graduates now view the private sector, which until recently promised higher pay and more exciting prospects, as too risky and are focusing on getting a job in the government.
“Ever since I was a child, I’ve liked playing computer games and I wanted to work on game design,” said Yuxing (21) who graduated in computer science and technology this year.
“Until two years ago I was still inclined towards a job in design. But now I’m studying for the civil service exam. It’s a secure job.”
Milin (24) studied urban design and walked into a job right away when he graduated two years ago. But the pay was poor and he left after six months and he is now on his third job since leaving university.
“Most of my classmates started working hard on finding a job in our third year of college. But it’s harder to find a good job now,” he said.
Work cannot make me feel happy, it can only lead to me being unhappy
— Milin
“Before the pandemic, our first choice would be to find a job ourselves in the market, and taking the civil service exam was our last choice. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have changed our priority to put becoming a civil servant first. Before the pandemic, maybe 10 per cent of the class would go for the exams but since the pandemic, 80 per cent of the class have gone for the civil service exams.”
Milin’s parents run their own business and they think he should be more adventurous, encouraging him to leave Beijing and to experience new things in other parts of the country. But his experience of work so far has been unsatisfying.
“The unpleasant part is I’ve always been asked to do meaningless tasks. For example, my boss asked me to do six plans but in the end he just took the first one without looking at the others. This made me feel I spent a lot of energy and time on useless things,” he said.
“Work cannot make me feel happy, it can only lead to me being unhappy. I can only try my best to make myself feel less unhappy. I’d prefer not to work forever, for good.”
Zhaoyi (23) has had three jobs since he graduated in industrial design last year but he disliked them all and hopes to work freelance in digital marketing. He said his generation think about work differently to that of his parents.
“I think it’s important to have freedom. I want to do something on my own. I don’t want to an office job. I want to start with a studio and work on my projects slowly,” he said.
“I am from Beijing and I live with my parents. They’re okay, they don’t ask much of me and they don’t put any pressure on me. I can do whatever I want. Times have changed. My parents’ generation had little choice. In the past 30 years of reform and opening up, society has developed very fast. Times have changed dramatically, and the attitudes of the two generations have changed.”
Living at home, Zhaoyi can afford to be relaxed about getting a job and he is toying with the idea of working outside China, perhaps in Russia, which he thinks could be interesting right now.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter. For me personally, I just graduated and I think for the next three years we won’t be able to get any highly-paid jobs. What you can get during this time is not money, but more experience and skills,” he said.
But when Lingren (21) finishes her degree in advertising next year, she is determined to find financial independence. She has been fascinated with the fashion industry since she was at school and she hopes to get a job as a fashion PR.
“I want to be self-sufficient and I also hope I can help my parents financially. My parents are ordinary people. To survive in Beijing, my parents had to borrow to buy a house and a car and to pay my tuition fees. These are very big expenses. So for my parents’ generation, there was a lot of economic pressure,” she said.
“I don’t lack anything, I can do what I like to do, I also have the ability to accomplish my goals. If I can’t find a job in the fashion industry, first I will try to find a job in a field related to the fashion industry. If I can’t find a job there, I’ll have to look for a stable job with a regular income.”
