Severe Youth Unemployment in Jung... Using Idol Variety Shows to Promote "Return to Farming"

Chinese Authorities Encourage Support for Youth Returning to Farming

As youth unemployment in China soars to a critical level, authorities are reportedly actively encouraging young people to return to rural areas. However, some critics argue that without sufficient supply of quality jobs in cities, the current measures are merely stopgap solutions.

On the 4th (local time), the US media outlet Bloomberg reported that the populations of major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen declined last year for the first time in history.

According to the media, China's youth unemployment rate has already surpassed 20%. The population decline appears to be due to young people who cannot find jobs moving to rural areas. However, Chinese statistical authorities have currently stopped releasing youth unemployment figures.

Let's Farm in China's 'Return to Farming' Variety Show
[Image Source=iQIYI]

Bloomberg also interviewed young Chinese who have returned to farming. A man in his 30s who recently returned to rural life after working at a tech company in Hangzhou lamented, "Until 2014, anyone who graduated from university could get a good job, but now that is unimaginable."

The authorities are making every effort to solve the unemployment problem. One of these efforts is promoting 'returning to farming.' Under President Xi Jinping's 'rural revitalization' plan, various benefits are being offered to young people moving to rural areas through return-to-farming programs.

In China, even variety shows featuring idols experiencing 'returning to farming' have become wildly popular. The show titled "Let's Farm" on the Chinese streaming platform iQIYI follows 10 actors and idol singers aged 19 to 26 as they farm in the countryside for half a year. Since its first broadcast in February, the program has risen to the second highest internet viewership rating in Chinese online broadcasting history.

However, Bloomberg criticized the policy encouraging youth to return to rural areas as lacking long-term effectiveness. According to Bloomberg, China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate is expected to sharply decline to an average of 4% annually in the future. In the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, it grew at an average of 8% per year.

The media outlet pointed out, "Driving university graduates away from cities where technological innovation occurs will further slow growth," adding, "A slowdown in urbanization also reduces demand for new housing, which has been a major economic driver in China."