Official data shows urban employment among the 16- to 24-year-olds in China hit a record 20.4% in April – about four times the broader unemployment rate, even as millions more college students are expected to graduate this year.
The scourge of underemployment is another issue that Chinese youths and policymakers are wrestling with.
College graduates in China are caught in the middle of a job market where youth unemployment is at an all-time high, forcing some to take low-paying jobs or settle for jobs that don’t require their skills.
In addition to the rising youth unemployment rate, it is estimated that at least another quarter of college graduates in China are underemployed.
Progressively, school graduates are taking up places that are not proportionate with their training and qualifications to keep away from joblessness.
In point of fact, underemployment occurs when people are unable to find full-time jobs that match their skills and settle for low-skilled or low-paying jobs, or even part-time work. These are the jobs that used to mostly occupy people who didn’t go to college.
In other societies, the scarring effects of graduating during a difficult economic time have been well documented. Research from Stanford College shows school graduates who start their working lives during a downturn or time of financial slump procure less for no less than 10 to 15 years than the people who graduate during times of thriving.
Data from China’s Bureau of Statistics shows that 6 million of the 96 million 16- to 24-year-olds in the urban labor force are currently unemployed. Goldman Sachs estimates that the number of young people without jobs in urban areas has increased by 3 million since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reduced work possibilities could unavoidably fan disappointment among the young people, and an apparent inability to guarantee their material prosperity could disturb the common agreement the Communist Party has with people in China.
Youth unemployment and underemployment could “potentially have very negative ramifications for the economy,” as China’s aging and declining population will reduce its economically active population.
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According to statistics from the International Labor Organization, few other societies are recognizing the scale of China’s issue, even though it is not the only one in the world with double-digit youth unemployment. Having said that, the central government of China is well aware of this issue.
In April, China’s State Council announced a 15-point plan pointed toward coordinating jobs with young searchers all the more ideally. According to Jean Yeung, a sociology professor at the National University of Singapore,
“Because of the rapid increase in education, both for men and women, these young people are not willing to go back to factory jobs anymore”
This also includes support for skills training and traineeships, a pledge for a one-time expansion of hiring at state-owned enterprises, and support for the entrepreneurial ambitions of college graduates and migrant workers.
According to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, nearly 30 million manufacturing jobs may not be filled by 2025, even as youth unemployment rates rise. That is almost 50% of the multitude of occupations in the area, the ministry said.
“But the plan was for China’s economy to transform from labor-intensive industry to more technological, with a strong service-oriented, knowledge economy,” Yeung added.
According to economists, private sector support is essential to the success of an economy driven by services. However, the issue is that, small and medium-sized businesses do not have access to credit.
“Until that happens, you’re not going to have services in the private sector really being able to absorb these young graduates who want to work in the new industries, the industries of the future, and then be able to have that massive economic transition,” said Qazi. “It’s all interconnected.”
During the pandemic, China’s “zero Covid” policy caused factory closures and a two-month lockdown in Shanghai, the financial hub, as well as a halt in the economy as a whole.
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According to Goldman Sachs, the beginning of the year slowdown in the services sector, prior to China’s reopening, may have contributed to the current high youth unemployment rate.
However, the U.S. investment bank’s analysts believe that due to the influx of recent college graduates, China’s youth unemployment rate will likely reach its highest point in July and August.
Goldman Sachs economists say, getting young people back to work would aid China’s economic recovery because it would restore the youth’s consumption power, which typically accounts for nearly 20% of China’s consumption.
But the jobs may not match what they want or are prepared to do.
“I think it’s ironic that nowadays, having a college degree is no longer sufficient to land a high skilled job for most college graduates,” said Lu.
“But at the same time, it’s becoming unnecessary because everyone else is getting it.”
