Fewer Jobs for China’s Abundant Crop of New Graduates

Students at the Tsinghua University graduation ceremony in Beijing, China on July 18, 2007. China Photos/Getty Images

Commentary

Nearly 12 million new college graduates across China are looking forward to starting their careers. But sadly, there aren’t enough jobs to accommodate them. Rather than endure prolonged unemployment, many have decided to further their education. The plight of these disheartened graduates reflects a critical juncture in China’s economic development. How China navigates this challenge will undoubtedly shape its future socioeconomic landscape.

In June 2023, the Chinese regime reported the unemployment rate for ages 16 to 24 at 21.3 percent, a jump from 16.7 percent in December 2022. In March, the regime published a new unemployment figure of 15.3 percent, a sudden drop that experts find hard to believe.

According to a December report from Fudan University, in 2023, only 18.07 percent of new graduates from Shanghai’s prestigious university found employment, while 70.61 percent opted to return for graduate programs.

Educational System Misaligned With Labor Demands

Hu Liren, an entrepreneur in Shanghai who now resides in the United States, raised concerns regarding China’s education system. He said he believes that the country’s educational landscape has evolved in a disjointed manner.

“Since the 1990s, the proliferation of college enrollments led to the conversion of departments into standalone colleges and an unprecedented expansion in student numbers,” he said. “This industrialization of education, driven partly by profit motives, has resulted in a concerning trend where many graduates struggle to find employment or find themselves in fields unrelated to their majors.”

Mr. Hu said he believes that the actual employment rate among Chinese college graduates might be significantly lower than what official reports indicate. He cited personal anecdotes about his friends’ children’s challenges securing jobs aligned with their majors, if at all.

“This mismatch between education and industry demands has persisted for over a decade, with graduates often veering away from their fields of study, such as science majors ending up in service-oriented roles,” Mr. Hu said.

Drawing on his experience managing his new tech company, Mr. Hu noted the substantial time and resources required to train fresh graduates to perform independently. He said employers had become increasingly reluctant to invest in costly training for raw recruits. Instead, they prefer to hire experienced workers who could make immediate contributions. This preference exacerbates the job market challenges faced by recent graduates.

Shrinking Private Enterprise Sector

Guo Jun, editor-in-chief of The Epoch Times in Hong Kong, said that the significant challenges facing college graduates in China could primarily be attributed to the fact that the private enterprise sector has been shrinking.

“The prevailing trend among business owners is to adopt defensive strategies, leading to conservative operations with minimal new business ventures or expansions,” Ms. Guo said. “Over the past two years, China has seen sluggish investment growth, with private sector investment even contracting last year and showing only a marginal recovery of 0.4 percent early this year, which faltered again by May.”

According to data from the Chinese regime, private enterprises play a crucial role in China’s economy, contributing more than 50 percent of tax revenue, more than 60 percent of GDP, and driving more than 70 percent of technological innovation. They also account for more than 80 percent of urban employment and represent more than 90 percent of total enterprises.

“Previously, these enterprises created 16 million new jobs annually out of 20 million jobs generated across the country,” Ms. Guo said. “However, with the current downturn in investment, the ability to sustain this level of job creation has diminished significantly, contributing to the growing unemployment among college graduates.”

Shi Shan, a senior writer and contributor to the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times, said he observed a shift in employment preferences among Chinese youth. While previous generations aspired to work for foreign companies or engage in entrepreneurial ventures, there is now a notable trend toward seeking stable positions in civil service and public institutions. This shift contrasts sharply with the entrepreneurial spirit of the 1980s and 1990s, when many people left secure government jobs to pursue private enterprise.

Ms. Guo said that the allure of civil service positions today is driven by the deteriorating economic environment and the perceived stability and benefits these roles offer.

“This shift reflects broader societal changes in China, where diminishing economic opportunities have reduced social mobility, prompting many young people to view civil service as the primary avenue for career advancement,” she said.

‘Down to the Countryside Movement’

Mr. Shi said that success often hinges on parental status more than personal academic achievements, prompting many new graduates to embrace a “lying flat,“ or do nothing, mindset.

Mr. Hu said, “Contemporary youth have become increasingly aware of their limited prospects, believing their futures are predetermined by parental status. Unlike previous generations who strove to alter their circumstances through arduous work, many feel resigned that their efforts will not improve their circumstances. Consequently, they opt for modest lifestyles and frequently return to their hometowns after graduating.”

Traditionally, Chinese families hope their children will continue the family lineage. However, Mr. Hu said he believes that many now face the grim reality that their offspring may constitute the last generation, losing faith in societal prospects and future advancements.

Li Jun, an independent TV producer, noted that from 1956 to 1978, the CCP initiated the “Down to the Countryside Movement” to alleviate urban employment pressures; it mobilized about 20 million youths to rural areas and frontier regions.

“Those who survived this tragic era do not want their offspring to suffer the same fate,” he said. “With contemporary urban employment challenges persisting, there appears to be a renewed interest in promoting a modern-day ‘Down to the Countryside Movement,’ evidenced by CCP leader Xi Jinping’s encouragement to agricultural students and various government ministries advocating rural revitalization since May 4 last year.”

Mr. Li said that in today’s digital environment, new college graduates recognize that opportunities predominantly exist in urban centers rather than rural locales, where resources remain scarce. Consequently, few are likely to heed this call for rural migration. Instead, Mr. Li proposed “supporting the growth of small and micro private enterprises, starting with street vendors, as a pivotal solution to the current employment predicament.”

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.