Tag: Unemployment

China’s Investors Are Losing Faith in Its Markets and Economy

Media Library

Like many Chinese people, Jacky hoped that he could make enough money investing in China’s stock markets to help pay for an apartment in a big city. But in 2015 he lost $30,000, and in 2021 he lost $80,000. After that, he shut down his trading account and started investing in Chinese funds that track stocks in the United States. It’s a perilous time for investors in China. Their main vehicle, so-called A shares of Chinese companies, fell more than 11 percent in 2023 and have continued their losses this…

How These Young People Got Their Jobs in China’s Tough Job Market

Media Library

They knew the job market would be tough. None were prepared for just how tough it proved to be. China’s economy is struggling through a sustained slowdown, with real estate developers mired in debt, families fearful of spending and entrepreneurs hesitating to take risks. Joblessness levels among young people have hit record highs. We spoke to five young Chinese about what it took to find their jobs amid such uncertainty. They described moving home with their parents, exhausting their savings, taking on unpaid internships or working two jobs. They also…

China’s Youth Unemployment Rate Is Back, and Better

Media Library

After suspending the public release of youth unemployment rates last year, China started distributing the information again on Wednesday, using a different measurement criteria that lowered the figure significantly. China’s National Bureau of Statistics stopped announcing the jobless rate among 16- to 24-year-olds after the figure climbed for six consecutive months to 21.3 percent in June, a record high. The government said when it suspended the numbers for July that the collection of the information needed to be “further improved and optimized.” The growing number of unemployed young people had…

For China’s Jobless Young People, Hostels Are the Place to Be

Media Library

In a youth hostel in downtown Shanghai, amid the dull roar of a hair dryer, the shriek of a blender and the lingering aroma of spicy instant noodles, Ethan Yi, 23, was pondering the state of the world. “Why can’t I, a college graduate, find a job?” Mr. Yi lamented as he sat in the hostel’s common room after a day of unsuccessful interviews. “Why is it only jobs that pay just $400 or $500 a month that want me? Sometimes I wonder, how can it be this hard?” That…

As China’s economy stalls, Australia braces for the impact on its currency and tourism market

Media Library

With strong financial ties to China, Australia is bracing for impact as the country’s deepening economic woes threaten its trading partners. Growth has stalled in China, as has foreign investment, at the same time as a property crisis worsens, with developers Evergrande and Country Garden facing severe financial difficulties. Youth unemployment had surged to 21.3% before Beijing abruptly suspended the data series, setting alarm bells ringing. Australia was planning to profit from China’s pandemic recovery, before signs emerged that all was not well with the major iron ore customer and…

China Suspends Youth Unemployment Report

Media Library

The Chinese government, facing an expected seventh consecutive monthly increase in youth unemployment, said Tuesday that it had instead suspended release of the information. The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds in urban areas hit 21.3 percent, a record, in June and has risen every month this year. It was widely forecast by economists to have climbed further last month. The decision to scrub a widely-watched report could exacerbate the concerns expressed by investors and executives who say ever tightening government control of information is making it harder to do…

As China’s Youth Unemployment Soars, Pressure on Colleges Grows

Media Library

At this year’s commencement ceremony for the Chongqing Metropolitan College of Science and Technology in southwestern China, the graduating class did not receive the usual lofty message to pursue their dreams. Instead, they were dealt a harsh dose of reality. “You must not aim too high or be picky about work,” said Huang Zongming, the college’s president, to more than 9,000 graduates in June. “The opportunities are fleeting.” A record number of Chinese college graduates are entering the job market, exacerbating an already bleak employment outlook for the country’s young…

Chinese Workers Confront the Curse of 35

Media Library

When Sean Liang turned 30, he started thinking of the Curse of 35 — the widespread belief in China that white-collar workers like him confront unavoidable job insecurity after they hit that age. In the eyes of employers, the Curse goes, they’re more expensive than new graduates and not as willing to work overtime. Mr. Liang, now 38, is a technology support professional turned personal trainer. He has been unemployed for much of the past three years, partly because of the pandemic and China’s sagging economy. But he believes the…

China’s 11.6m graduates face a jobs market with no jobs

Media Library

With a master’s degree in applied linguistics from one of Australia’s top universities, Ingrid Xie did not expect to end up working in a grocery store. But that was where she ended up after graduating from the University of Queensland in July last year. Xie did her undergraduate degree in China, studying English in the shade of palm trees at Hainan Tropical Ocean University. She went abroad for her master’s because she thought that would help her find a better job. But after working at a Korean supermarket in Brisbane…

China’s Young People Can’t Find Jobs. Xi Jinping Says to ‘Eat Bitterness.’

Media Library

Gloria Li is desperate to find a job. Graduating in June with a master’s degree in graphic design, she started looking last fall, hoping to find an entry-level position that pays about $1,000 a month in a big city in central China. The few offers she has gotten are internships that pay $200 to $300 a month, with no benefits. Over two days in May she messaged more than 200 recruiters and sent her résumé to 32 companies — and lined up exactly two interviews. She said she would take…