customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Biology student Ma Jingjing wandered the hall of a job fair in central China among other young Chinese hoping to find work in an economy crushed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ma, 26, is one of almost 9 million people graduating and entering the job market this year at a time of great uncertainty, an issue that has the Communist Party worried to the point that President Xi Jinping has made it a priority.
The world’s second-largest economy may have rebounded sharply from a historic virus-induced contraction, but its young graduate jobless rate in June was more than three times that for urban unemployment.
The grim outlook for Chinese unemployment
Ma was among hundreds of young faces streaming in and out of the job fair on a recent weekend in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, where employers in industries ranging from property to manufacturing were recruiting.
Like many others, the aspiring teacher said she was “at a loss” and wondering if she should settle for any job or hold off work for further education.
“I have applied to seven or eight private schools, but only one has called me back for an interview,” she said.
“I’ve studied for so many years and don’t want my family to pay for further training. I’m especially worried about my finances.”

Aware of the risk that mass unemployment can spark political unrest – jeopardising the party’s pledge of prosperity in return for unquestioned political power – the government has been making efforts to boost graduate employment via state-owned enterprises.
But poorer opportunities this year are pushing some into further studies, less ideal jobs or other options.
Although China’s economy appeared to make a strong comeback in the second quarter – growing 3.2 per cent year on year – analysts say the rebound may be overestimated, with a gap re-emerging between national figures and higher frequency data.
Manufacturer of Nike, Speedo, Reebok swimsuits partially shuts
Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics said there was no doubt China was recovering, but the magnitude would determine if growth was “strong enough to reabsorb some of the labour market problems” that emerged earlier this year, such as lay-offs.
A gap in growth of a few percentage points could lead to a difference of millions of jobs created, he said.
Although China’s urban unemployment rate slipped to 5.7 per cent in June, 19.3 per cent of new graduates remained jobless, UOB economists said in a report, adding the labour market “continued to face challenges”.
Top-level economic data has not necessarily meant better hiring on the ground.

A 27-year-old surnamed Kang, who graduated in 2017, is back in the market after his contract in the communications industry in Beijing ended.
He decided to return to Zhengzhou, but has only received around five callbacks after sending more than 30 résumés to firms – and is still looking for a job.
“The virus outbreak has limited travel and a lot of job fairs have been postponed or cancelled,” he said. “I’m extremely anxious.”
Lu Yifan, 25, said the pandemic had caused many overseas Chinese students like him to return home sooner than planned – adding to the flood of jobseekers.
And Guangdong graduate Zhao Jingying, 22, said: “For us [this year], getting a single job offer is a feat.”
Another graduate, Beijing-based Huo Ruixi, 23, left university in July but is planning a second round of higher education after an unsuccessful five-month job search.
The crisis is also causing problems for employers.

Yang Changwei, the manager of Deyou Real Estate, said at the Zhengzhou fair it was getting harder to hire sales staff based on commission.
“It feels like jobseekers’ mindsets have shifted,” he said.
“In sales, you may or may not make deals but with other jobs there can be more stability in income. Because of the epidemic, financial pressures are larger as well.”
Officials are ramping up efforts to boost graduate employment, and Premier Li Keqiang announced over 9 million new roles would be created this year.
A State Council guideline in March said smaller firms that recruited graduates with contracts longer than a year would be given a subsidy, while state-owned companies would “continuously expand” the scale of graduate-hiring this year and next.
Henan authorities, for one, said at least half the recruitment positions at state firms within the province should be reserved for this year’s graduates, while the government of Nanjing in Jiangsu province, set aside 1 billion yuan (US$143 million) to provide 100,000 internships for struggling graduates, Xinhua reported.



US law firms shrink China footprint as investment decline hurts business

Shenzhen eases age limits for government jobs, blazing trail for China’s retirement delay

Chinese-founded courier J&T hops on cross-border e-commerce trend in global expansion

China’s jobless youth complicate growth plans

China economy

China’s young jobseekers struggle despite economic recovery

A jobseeker speaks to a recruiter at an employment fair in the central China city of Zhengzhou. Photo: AFP

This photo taken on July 25, 2020 shows a job seeker looking at an information leaflet during a career fair in Zhengzhou, China's Henan province. - China's economy may have rebounded sharply after a historic contraction from the coronavirus outbreak, but jobseekers face a less rosy situation -- with businesses still reeling and household savings on the rise. (Photo by WANG ZHAO / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: China-economy-employment-health-virus, FOCUS by Beiyi SEOW

TOPSHOT - This photo taken on July 25, 2020 shows a job seeker taking a rest during a career fair in Zhengzhou, China's Henan province. - China's economy may have rebounded sharply after a historic contraction from the coronavirus outbreak, but jobseekers face a less rosy situation -- with businesses still reeling and household savings on the rise. (Photo by WANG ZHAO / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: China-economy-employment-health-virus, FOCUS by Beiyi SEOW

This photo taken on July 25, 2020 shows a job seeker looking at a job announcement flyer during a career fair in Zhengzhou, China's Henan province. - China's economy may have rebounded sharply after a historic contraction from the coronavirus outbreak, but jobseekers face a less rosy situation -- with businesses still reeling and household savings on the rise. (Photo by WANG ZHAO / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: China-economy-employment-health-virus, FOCUS by Beiyi SEOW

China’s unemployment crisis shows no signs of easing as graduates face reality check due to coronavirus

While no official employment data is available, some research has estimated that only a quarter of the new graduates had received a job offer by the end of May. Photo: Xinhua

China’s official surveyed urban unemployment rate peaked at 6.2 per cent in February but moderated to 5.9 per cent, or 27 million unemployed, in May. Photo: Xinhua

China job market improves marginally in June, dashing hopes of V-shaped rebound even as economy returns to growth

New China job data in June showed one out of five people in their early 20s was unemployed. Photo: Xinhua

In this April 8, 2020 photo, laborers wear facemasks to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus as they look at job postings at a labor market in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province. China has reported its biggest economic decline since the 1970s as it fought the coronavirus in the first quarter of the year. (Chinatopix via AP)

Job seekers at a recruitment fair at Shaanxi University of Science and Technology in Xi'an, northwest China. Photo: Xinhua

News

China

People & Culture


Almost 9 million people will graduate and enter the job market this year at a time of great uncertainty
‘Getting a single job offer is a feat,’ new graduate says



Almost 9 million people will graduate and enter the job market this year at a time of great uncertainty.


China society

Job hunting

Jobs

China’s young jobseekers struggle despite economic recovery

Almost 9 million people will graduate and enter the job market this year at a time of great uncertainty ‘Getting a single job offer is a feat,’ new graduate says

The grim outlook for Chinese unemployment

Almost 9 million people will graduate and enter the job market this year at a time of great uncertainty

‘Getting a single job offer is a feat,’ new graduate says