"Youth Need to Change Their Thinking About 'Good Jobs'"
In China, where young people are facing severe employment difficulties, it has become common for those with master's and doctoral degrees to work in positions such as restaurant staff or temporary workers, a phenomenon known as "over-spec" (qualifications exceeding the requirements of the job).
Job seekers attending a job fair held on October 22, 2024, in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, Northeast China. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
On the 4th, the British BBC reported that it is not difficult to find cases in China where a person with a master's degree in physics takes a job as a high school janitor or a doctoral degree holder from the prestigious Tsinghua University applies for a temporary assistant police officer position.
Sun Zan (25), who recently earned a master's degree in finance, is working as an employee at a hot pot restaurant in Nanjing, southern China. Sun tried to get a job in investment banking but failed and then took a job at the restaurant. Despite his parents' opposition, Sun changed his goal from working in finance to working at the restaurant and starting his own business, saying, "If the business succeeds, even the critical opinions of my family members will change."
Wu Dan (29), who earned a degree in finance from the world-renowned Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, is currently working as an intern at a sports injury massage clinic in Shanghai. Wu had worked at a futures trading company while living in Hong Kong, but after returning to Shanghai, he chose manual labor because he could not find the job he wanted. Wu said his family did not understand his choice, but he emphasized, "Only a very small number of my master's classmates have found jobs."
College graduates who are unemployed because they cannot find their desired jobs often flock to Hengdian, a film production hub city southwest of Shanghai, to work as extras. Wu Xinghai (26), who majored in electronic information engineering, explained, "People often come here and work for just a few months," adding that he is doing the same until he finds a full-time job. Li Mo, who majored in film directing and screenwriting, said, "This is the reality in China," and added, "The moment you graduate, you become unemployed."
China produces 10 million university graduates annually, but due to the economic downturn, jobs are scarce. When the youth unemployment rate for those under 25 soared to a record high of 21.3% in June 2023, China suddenly stopped releasing the statistics. Since then, it began publishing a new youth unemployment rate from December of that year, excluding middle and high school as well as university students from the unemployment statistics. As of November 2024, China's youth unemployment rate was recorded at 16.1%.
Professor Zhang Jun of the City University of Hong Kong said, "The job market situation in mainland China is very difficult, and many young people think they need to completely readjust their expectations for 'good jobs.'"
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
