Eleven million young Chinese are currently flooding the job market. Your studies are over, your degree in your pocket – but for many there is still no job in sight: One in five young people in China is unemployed, “flat”, as they say in the People’s Republic.
A young woman in a light blue grad robe puts her university thesis in the trash can. Another wears the black academic hat on her head, is disguised as a paper towel dispenser, paper towels are hanging out of her mouth. Other graduates lie sprawled, face down, across stair steps, park benches, or streets.
The photos of freshly minted Chinese university graduates on social media this year are creative, but also sadder than ever.
The young people don’t pose with flowers, don’t throw hats in the air – they lie “flat”. This trend is called “Tangping”, which translates to lying flat. “It is an expression of increasing insecurities and fears about the future, especially for young people,” says Katja Drinhausen, Head of the Department of Chinese Politics and Society at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in the ntv podcast “Learned again”. This year in particular is particularly difficult for university graduates: “There are over 11 million new university graduates who are now entering the labor market. And this at a time when unemployment among young workers is already very, very high at over 20 percent.”
No guarantee of job after graduation
The steep departure from a ‘picture-perfect’ narrative surrounding graduation hints at a rising disbelief in education as the pathway to success and perhaps a more relaxed attitude towards academic achievements as a whole. pic.twitter.com/i7FADRFkJi
— RADII (@RADII_Media) June 13, 2023
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With their posed pictures, the young university graduates show how they assess their future: One in five of the 16 to 24-year-olds was unemployed in June. Chinese youth unemployment hit a new record at 21.3 percent. And those are just the official numbers. In addition, the quota is only recorded in the cities.
At the same time, young Chinese are becoming more educated and studying. Especially in Corona times, when the economy was paralyzed anyway. Between 2021 and 2022, the number of students at universities was six percent higher than usual.
It’s actually understandable: Because traditionally, position and salary in China are good if you have a degree in your pocket. Therefore, the family invests a lot of money in the expensive education of their children. In the past, a job was guaranteed for those with a university degree and a degree abroad, reports Drinhausen. “These expectations are being broken in the new generation and this has never happened before. That is of course one reason why the Chinese government is very concerned about this.” Up until now, the urban elite in particular could have counted on their lives getting better in the future.
Tech campaign destroys tens of thousands of jobs
However, the good training does not match the job market. Instead of having a top job, university graduates suddenly find themselves as Grocery delivery, at waste disposal companies or at the supermarket checkout again. This is also due to the fact that university education does not deliver what companies actually need, says Drinhausen in the “Learned again” podcast. “On the one hand, you need very highly trained specialists, especially in the engineering and technology sector, but even in China, the classic university degree does not always prepare you perfectly for the job market.”
In addition, the Chinese job market is shrinking anyway. Due to the Corona years and the tough lockdown, millions of companies have shut down.
The Chinese government’s campaign against technology companies was also serious. Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping felt threatened by the market power of the tech giants. In recent years, the authorities have fined Alibaba, Wechat and Co. millions or stopped valuable international IPOs. They should be aligned with the Communist Party and serve the state, not the billionaire owners. But this intervention has destroyed tens of thousands of jobs.
“Eat bitterness!”
Young Chinese are looking for alternative ways to earn money. Some sell their knowledge on the street: A young PhD student offers “Political Science Consulting Services.” A master’s graduate set up a calligraphy and handwriting booth in Shenzhen.
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More and more university graduates are also opting for a job in the public sector. “Because they think they have better future prospects in the safe haven of the state. The salaries are low there, but at least the job is guaranteed,” says Drinhausen. The young people value the stable income from publicly financed institutions and the financial security in old age.
Head of state Xi has little sympathy for the well-educated young people without job prospects. “Eat bitterness!” he calls out to them in early May – meaning that they should lower their standards and work hard, just like he did when he was fifteen. During the Cultural Revolution, like many other youths, he was sent to the countryside to do physical labor.
This old concept is now being revived again. The youth, who may also be spoiled in Xi’s eyes, should help to build up the structurally weak regions in the countryside. However, Drinhausen hardly believes that this idea will bear fruit among the young people and that they will actually be able to gain a foothold in the countryside.
With startups against unemployment
Drinhausen also believes that the Chinese government’s plan to help start-ups to counter record-high youth unemployment is of little help in the short term. University graduates and migrant workers are to receive start-up loans for their own startups. The expert sees additional qualifications for the freshly hired potential workers as a more suitable means.
China is facing a whole heap of problems: Not only does the state not know what to do with the many millions of young people who need a job. The economy is weakening significantly overall. The real estate market is in a serious crisis, the debts are increasing.
The fact that the population is shrinking and getting older doesn’t make it any better: Katja Drinhausen predicts that workers and skilled workers will become increasingly scarce in the next few years. If the education system doesn’t adapt, China has lost.