[Dongle Dongle] Chinese Youth Becoming 'Tangping' Generation... "I'd Rather Not Work Than Accept Low Wages"

1 in 5 Chinese Youth Unemployed
College Graduates Prefer High-Paying IT Jobs
IT Company Layoffs Reduce Job Openings
More Quit Jobs Rather Than Accept Low Wages

Last month, the media focused on the employment trend indicators announced by Statistics Korea. The number of young people in their 20s and 30s who stayed at home without job-seeking activities (660,000) surpassed the records of those in their 40s and 50s for the first time since the statistics were compiled. In employment statistics, "staying idle" means giving up job-seeking simply because they do not want to work, despite not engaging in household chores, childcare, or exam preparation.

Not only in Korea but also in China, the increasing number of young people losing the will to work has become a headache. A new term, "Tangpingjok," has even emerged to describe young people who have given up job-seeking. Tangping (?平) means "lying flat," referring to people who choose to lie down on the floor rather than work. Why is the number of young people giving up job-seeking increasing even in China, where the population is large and jobs are expected to be more abundant than in Korea?

[Image source=Bloomberg]

Among Chinese Youth, 1 in 5 is Unemployed... Manufacturing Struggles with Labor Shortage

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the youth unemployment rate in China reached a record high of 21.3% in June. Among the 96 million people aged 16 to 24, the labor force is 32 million, of which 6.3 million are unemployed.

[Image source=Bloomberg]

However, experts claim that the actual youth unemployment rate is estimated to be 46.5%. Among the 48 million non-labor population, excluding students, the remaining 16 million are effectively Tangpingjok, and including them causes the unemployment rate to soar. This means about one in two young people is unemployed.

Nevertheless, some industries continue to suffer from labor shortages. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China forecasts a shortage of about 30 million manufacturing workers in China by 2025. The service sector, including domestic helpers and sales promotion workers, is also experiencing severe labor shortages.

Youth Unemployment, Job Mismatch is the Root Cause

So why are more young people giving up job-seeking despite the availability of jobs? Experts emphasize that China's youth unemployment rate should be seen as a phenomenon stemming from job mismatch rather than a simple lack of jobs.

The current 20s and 30s generation tends to prefer high-skilled, high-paying jobs over low-skilled ones. According to a survey by Zhaopin, an online recruitment company, one-quarter of Chinese college graduates this year expressed a desire to work in the IT sector.

However, as Chinese big tech companies face management difficulties, the number of jobs they offer is decreasing. Last year, Tencent laid off 7,000 employees over the second and third quarters as a cost-cutting measure. Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, also restructured about 20,000 employees in the past year and announced plans for further staff reductions.

Moreover, as the number of college graduates seeking high-skilled jobs has surged, job competition has become fiercer. The Chinese government predicts that 11.58 million students will graduate from university this year. This is 820,000 more than last year's graduates, marking the highest number ever.

Since 1999, Chinese authorities have significantly increased university enrollment to improve labor market quality and increase white-collar jobs. As a result, the annual number of university graduates in China, which was only 1.14 million in 2001, exceeded 5 million in 2008 and has nearly increased tenfold by 2020. With the rapid increase of highly educated job seekers, there are insufficient jobs to accommodate them.

Youth Prefer Giving Up Employment Over Low Wages... Expressing Passive Dissatisfaction with Society

Ultimately, young people who could not get their desired jobs chose to give up job-seeking. The Washington Post (WP) recently reported that among Chinese youth, it has become a trend to lie down on campus floors while taking university graduation photos. Young people post photos on social media wearing graduation gowns and caps, covering their faces, and lying helplessly with the hashtag "Tangping."

[Image source= Sina Weibo]

WP explains that these photos represent a form of passive resistance expressed by students toward Chinese society. They reflect the bleak reality of not being able to secure high-income jobs despite fierce employment difficulties and passive dissatisfaction with a society that pressures them to try harder.

This Tangpingjok phenomenon is also found in Korea. The 660,000 young people who answered "stayed idle" in the employment trend survey likely chose to give up job-seeking rather than accept low-skilled jobs, similar to China. As economic growth slows, there is growing interest in how to expand high-skilled, high-paying jobs.