Slowing economy, crippled by Covid lockdowns leave China's jobless youth in lurch

China's slowing economy crippled by COVID-19 lockdowns has left millions of young people fiercely competing for an ever-slimming raft of jobs and facing an increasingly uncertain future.

Moreover, as the large cohort enters the labour force during the graduating season in July and August, China's youth faces slim prospects ahead, reported The News Singapore.

One in five young people in Chinese cities was out of work in July -- more than three times the national average and the highest recorded since January 2018, according to the official data released this month.

Nearly 11 million graduates entered China's bleak job market this summer with the economy growing at 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, the weakest in two years.

Zhuang Bo, an economist at research group TS Lombard estimated that the real jobless population could be more than double the official number as the data does not track unemployment among rural youth, and the real jobless population could be more than double official number, reported The News Singapore.

Blue-collar workers, too, are struggling to find work as growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors cools.

"The reality is more serious than what the data shows," said Ho-fung Hung, who specialises in China's political economy at Johns Hopkins University.

"If the problem continues without remedy, it will easily spread social disorders."

At a job fair in the tech hub Shenzhen, long lines of anxious parents and young graduates waited for a chance to chat with recruiters, reported The News Singapore.

Moreover, recent crackdowns on the tech and education sectors, which usually absorb fresh talent, have evaporated jobs for those armed with a degree in English.

Also, the fresh graduates who somehow managed to find work were offered less salaries.

Graduates who managed to find work this year were offered salaries that were on average 12 per cent less than last year, data from online recruitment firm Zhaopin showed.

Analysts blamed government policies that saw a rapid rise in college students over the past decade as the economy failed to accommodate more knowledge workers.

Premier Li Keqiang has said China's employment crisis is "complex and grave" and called on state-owned companies to step up to stabilise the economy.

And as growth in the private sector slows, job seekers have flocked to cram schools to prepare for highly competitive civil service exams, reported France-based media.

Youth jobless rate in China has hit a record high of 19.9 per cent, media reports said citing the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Chinese local media portal Global Times while citing the Ministry of Education noted that the number of college graduates in 2022 is expected to reach 10.76 million, exceeding 10 million for the first time, which is 1.67 million more than in 2021.

( With inputs from ANI )

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