In China’s new era of mass youth unemployment, there are various types of young people who are struggling.
For example, a “996” employee who works six days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. is “lying in.” These are two of about a dozen expressions related to worker burnout that have emerged in China in recent years. Lying down can mean coming to work but doing very little work, or leaving work altogether.
For example, the jobs crisis involves barely employed tech workers who are so burnt out that all they do is show up at the office and nap at their keyboards. Employees may not be worried, but the chances of them being fired are pretty high. Because corporations have so much influence in this worker surplus economy, they can easily fire and rehire workers. Millions of people are waiting to take on similar exhausting positions.
“Think about it,” says Guo Qingfeng, an IT employee at a major tech company in Beijing’s “Silicon Valley” known as Zhongguancun. “If you get fired, you don’t actually lose that much money,” he said, declining to disclose his salary but saying it’s not much. “But I will have freedom and be free from the stress of everyday life.”
he is not alone. Barons I spoke to five other workers in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu who had surprisingly similar sentiments. There are record numbers of unemployed young people. According to official statistics released in June, more than 20% of Chinese people aged 16 to 24 are unable to find work. Some Chinese scholars say that number could increase significantly.
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The numbers are so high that authorities have stopped publishing them altogether since June. August’s figure is estimated to be at least as high, alongside another record statistic that 11.6 million Chinese graduates and began job hunting this summer.
Youth unemployment soared around the world during the pandemic, but normalized relatively quickly in places like the United States, where the unemployment rate was 8.7% in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
China also has what are called debt burdeners. These are young spendthrifts who want an independent lifestyle, such as living alone or with friends, but do not want to work or simply cannot find a vacant position.
Dozens of social media apps in China – most famously Alipay, Tencent Holdings
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(3690.Hong Kong) – Now offering loans to basically anyone in exchange for exorbitant (sometimes daily) interest fees.None of the companies responded Barons Request for comments.
said Angel Wu, 27, in Shanghai. Barons She borrowed 70,000 yuan ($9,700) from multiple apps in just over a month after completing a master’s degree in the UK and having a decidedly lackluster job search.
A new genre of unemployed young people has emerged: “full-time children.” The group dominated Chinese social media over the summer, releasing videos of them living together with their parents but showing little sign of pursuing traditional employment.
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Many on social media, and some on social media. Barons According to Spokes, he is taking care of the house to compensate for the lack of income.
“I walk the dog, wash clothes, sweep and mop, and when I’m out, I buy groceries,” said Li Xiaoyi from the suburbs of the western city of Chengdu. Told.
While many parents in the West, and certainly many parents still in China, will find this resignation to being basically a domestic helper intolerable, a surprising number of young people are Parents said they were satisfied with the situation.
“My parents gave birth to me when they were relatively old, so these days they want to see me as much as possible. They encourage me to stay at home,” Lee said.
It is unclear what immediate impact this trend will have on China’s already struggling economy. According to the note, young people are a key driver of consumption in China and tend to spend more on culture and education.
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Some “full-time children” receive small stipends in exchange for housework, which appears to shift spending away from areas such as rent and toward supplies.
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“Since I don’t have to pay rent, I can go to the movies and other things if I want,” Lee said, declining to say how much money she receives from her parents.
This group should not be confused with groups who are unemployed under other conditions. For example, a huge number of Chinese children from wealthy families receive what is essentially a blank check from their parents, a car, and their own apartment, often purchased with family money.
The wealth portion of this cohort is strategic in many ways. By doing so, the child will be freed from the home and will be a better candidate to find a partner and have a social life. But most importantly, they are pouring huge amounts of cash into China’s preferred form of investment: real estate. According to government statistics, about 70% of the country’s wealth is tied up in real estate, and about 90% of Chinese people own a home. However, there are strict rules for purchasing a second home, so the easiest way for parents to buy is to put it in their child’s name.
Last month, authorities made it even easier for such dependents to register home purchases in their names. These “first-time” homebuyers can now enjoy lower mortgage rates in addition to tax benefits. Eased regulations are expected to reinvigorate China’s moribund real estate sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of gross domestic product, according to independent estimates.
Please contact editors@barrons.com.