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[The experiences of many young Chinese job seekers] reveal a deeper employment crisis confronting China’s youth - a mismatch of jobseekers’ expectations and available vacancies.
“One of the big issues right now is the distance and expectations between … the hard work (they) put in as students, and the job waiting for (them) on the other side,” said Zak Dychtwald, who is founder of the Young China Group, a think tank based in Shanghai.
With a record 12.22 million university graduates expected this year - up from about 9 million in 2021 - the Chinese government has acknowledged the urgency to address structural challenges facing the job market.
“The mismatch between the supply and demand of human resources has become more pronounced,” said China’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping at a press conference on Sunday (Mar 9) at the sidelines of the annual Two Sessions.
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Zhou Yun, assistant professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan, observed that while graduates “from elite schools with very in-demand college majors and skills such as automation or AI” are much sought after, many others find themselves struggling to secure relevant roles in an increasingly competitive job market.
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China's youth unemployment has far-reaching implications, affecting not only the economic landscape but also the social fabric of the nation, say analysts.
The term "rotten-tail kids" has emerged to describe young graduates who, unable to secure jobs commensurate with their education, find themselves in low-paying positions or reliant on parental support. This term draws a parallel to "rotten-tail buildings" - unfinished homes that have plagued China's economy since 2021.
Terming this issue as the "good enough job problem", Dychtwald further noted underemployment - where graduates take jobs that underutilise their skills - as a major concern.
“There’s a growing gap between graduate expectations and the jobs available.”
This discrepancy doesn't just affect income - it alters the young people's worldview, dampening their morale and ambition.
“Unemployment is obviously what is the biggest threat to political stability," Dychtwald said. "But I don't believe that underemployment is less severe when you're thinking about the morale and ambition of a generation.”
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The psychological blow has been particularly acute since the pandemic.
“The COVID moment, which was a longer moment in China than elsewhere, totally sent an economic shock through the spine of this generation. And they haven't recovered from that,” Dychtwald added.
“What they're looking for is a sense of hopefulness.”
Eli Friedman, professor of Global Labor and Work at Cornell University, pointed to a cultural shift underlying youth attitudes toward employment.
Unlike their parents’ generation, today’s young graduates are more resistant to accepting lower-quality or unstable positions, even under economic pressure.
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Meanwhile, Friedman underscored another policy area requiring attention: improving geographic labour mobility. He noted persistent hurdles from China's hukou residency system, which still restricts young graduates' ability to move freely to job-rich regions.
“China's economic geography continues to be very unequal,” Friedman explained.
“Wealth creation and job creation are all still highly concentrated, especially in the super large first-tier cities … there are still these kinds of labour market imperfections obstructing a free flow of labour.”