A distressing situation is currently unfolding among China\u2019s younger\ngeneration. Increasing numbers of them are struggling to secure\nemployment aligned with their field of study.<\/p>\n
This was revealed in a CNA report from 2025 titled \u201cWhy Are So Many\nYoung Graduates Unemployed in China\u201d.<\/p>\n
Many job seekers interviewed by CNA at the Lishuiqiao job fair in\nBeijing admitted to difficulties in finding roles relevant to the\nexpertise they acquired at university.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see the prospects as quite bleak; the job market is quiet, so I\u2019ve\ngiven up pursuing certain positions,\u201d said Hu Die, a 22-year-old job\nseeker and design graduate from Harbin University of Science and\nTechnology, to CNA, as quoted on Sunday (10\/5\/2026).<\/p>\n
Li Mengqi, a 26-year-old chemical engineering graduate from Shanghai\nInstitute of Technology, has been unemployed for eight months since\ngraduating.<\/p>\n
The reason is the same: she couldn\u2019t find work matching her major\nfrom university.<\/p>\n
Chen Yuyan, 26, a 2022 graduate of Guangdong Food and Drug Vocational\nCollege, has even ended up working as a package sorter at a courier\nagency branch.<\/p>\n
She said that despite her vocational education, it\u2019s difficult for\nher to obtain jobs with sufficient salary standards. This is because\nmany vacancies list challenging requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany companies seek candidates with experience\u2014people who can start\nworking immediately. As fresh graduates, we don\u2019t have enough\nexperience. They often say they lack resources to train new employees,\nand the offered salaries are very low,\u201d Chen stated.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s Labour Market Crisis<\/p>\n
Zak Dychtwald, founder of the Shanghai-based think tank Young China\nGroup, said what is happening to Li, Hu, and Chen illustrates the labour\nmarket crisis in China for its youth, who hope to pursue careers in\ntheir field of expertise.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest problems right now is the mismatch between the\nhard work they put in during university and the jobs awaiting them after\ngraduation,\u201d Zak Dychtwald said.<\/p>\n
Zhou Yun, assistant professor of Sociology at the University of\nMichigan, observed that while graduates from elite schools and\nautomation or AI majors are in demand, scholars still struggle to secure\njobs matching their skills due to rising competition in the job\nmarket.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndustries that have traditionally been major absorbers of\nuniversity graduates, such as internet startups and education, have also\nshrunk in recent years. So, there are deep structural reasons behind\nit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The deteriorating job market in China has given rise to the term\n\u201crotten tail kids\u201d to describe young graduates forced to work low-wage\njobs and rely on their parents because they can\u2019t get employment\nmatching their education. This term is borrowed from \u201crotten tail\nbuildings,\u201d stalled housing projects that have become an economic burden\nin China since 2021.<\/p>\n
Eli Friedman, professor of Global Labour and Work at Cornell\nUniversity, highlighted a cultural shift affecting young people\u2019s\nattitudes towards work.<\/p>\n
Threat to Economic Stability<\/p>\n
Unlike their parents\u2019 generation, today\u2019s young graduates are more\nreluctant to accept low-quality or unstable jobs, even amid economic\npressures. They are also unwilling to start small businesses to develop\ntheir ventures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re 22 or 23 years old and just graduated from university in\nChina right now, I don\u2019t think you\u2019d want to sell small items on the\nstreet, save up, and use that to start a small business. Culturally, I\nthink that\u2019s no longer the path chosen by most people,\u201d Friedman\nsaid.<\/p>\n
This shift in attitude has given birth to the term \u201clying flat\u201d or\ntangping in Mandarin, when young people choose to withdraw from\nhyper-competitive work environments. Some youth are reluctant to \u201ctake\nany available job\u201d due to growing disillusionment with the traditional\ncareer development model, according to Friedman.<\/p>\n
Zhou from the University of Michigan highlighted the profound\npsychological impact of prolonged unemployment, especially among\ngraduates who were previously promised stable futures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe inability to get a job not only creates economic uncertainty but\nalso strips away dignity and life purpose. For graduates, this shatters\nthe narrative they\u2019ve long believed\u2014that education would provide a\nbetter life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This year, the number of university graduates in China will reach a\nrecord 12.22 million, up from 9 million in 2021. The Chinese government\nhas acknowledged that solutions to the employment challenges in the\ncountry are urgently needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mismatch between the supply and demand of human resources is\nbecoming more pronounced,\u201d said China\u2019s Minister of Human Resources and\nSocial Security, Wang Xiaoping, at a press conference on 9 March during\nthe annual Two Sessions meetings.<\/p>\n
The 2025 China Government Work Report details plans to address youth\nunemployment, emphasising the expansion of job opportunities, more\ntargeted financial assistance, and new support for entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n
Specific measures proposed include refunding unemployment insurance\npremiums, tax and fee reductions, job subsidies, and direct support for\nlabour-intensive industries.<\/p>\n
China has set a target to create more than 12 million new urban jobs\nthis year, as outlined in the Government Work Report at the Two\nSessions.<\/p>\n
Despite the record number of graduates entering the job market this\nyear, China still faces a shortage of skilled labour, particularly in\nthe manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n
According to a China Daily report on Ju<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/disaster-strikes-in-china-many-young-graduates-with-rotten-tails-1778406683", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }