Exploiting Desperation to Demand 'Brokerage Fees' for Employment
Some Public Enterprises Soar to Tens of Millions of Won
Youth in China, suffering from severe unemployment, are now falling victim to 'job scams.' Job recruitment websites in China are demanding 'brokerage fees' in exchange for introducing good job opportunities.
On the 3rd (local time), Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that job brokerage scams have been rampant recently in China. They demand 'job brokerage fees' from young people who cannot even get interview opportunities due to unemployment, then take hundreds of thousands of won and disappear.
SCMP explained the scam tactics, saying, "Such brokerage services are illegal," and "Recruitment sites lure young people through social networking service (SNS) platforms, usually approaching them disguised as job consultants."
The brokerage jobs 'offered' by these recruitment sites are mostly high-quality positions. They promote jobs at well-known large companies or stable state-owned enterprises in China, and reportedly demand 10,000 yuan (about 1.84 million won) as a brokerage fee for connecting these jobs with job-seeking youth.
The brokerage fees for some jobs have soared to astronomical levels. In particular, brokerage fees for state-owned enterprises, which enjoy considerable popularity in China, are known to reach 200,000 to 400,000 yuan (about 37 million to 73.84 million won). This means one has to pay an amount equivalent to a typical office worker’s annual salary just to get an interview opportunity.
Some state-owned enterprises in China are known to offer substantial benefits such as high wages, career advancement without much effort, and even housing and retirement pensions. Because of this, interest in state-owned enterprises among young people is very high.
SCMP stated, "Chinese youth are exposed to increasingly fierce job competition due to the economic downturn and high youth unemployment rate," adding, "It is understandable why they fall for these recruitment scams."
The youth unemployment rate in China for those aged 16 to 24 was 14.9% as of the end of last year. Earlier, when the youth unemployment rate surged to 21.3% in June last year, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics suspended the release of statistics for five months before resuming.
However, the recently announced figures reportedly adjusted the target population to job seekers excluding middle school, high school, and university students. Although the figures may have dropped compared to before, it is unclear whether the actual number of unemployed has significantly decreased.
The most stable employer in China is reportedly the government. This year, the number of applicants for the Chinese civil service exam reached a historic high of 2.83 million, an increase of 330,000 from the previous year.
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