The unemployment rate for Chinese youth aged 16 to 24, excluding college students, surged to 17.1% in July, highlighting the severe challenges facing young job seekers in an increasingly difficult economic environment. This alarming statistic, reported by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics, underscores the broader struggles within China’s economy, which is grappling with multiple crises and a weakening job market.
Economic Woes And Rising Unemployment
The record-high youth unemployment rate has exacerbated the difficulties faced by millions of young Chinese, many of whom are fresh graduates entering a saturated job market. The job crisis is particularly concerning given the record 11.79 million students who graduated this summer. With the economy facing ongoing challenges—from a trade war and the aftermath of COVID-19 to a prolonged property crisis and cautious consumer spending—finding stable employment has become increasingly elusive for many.
The Dark Side of Job Hunting: Scams on the Rise
As the job market becomes more competitive, desperate job seekers are falling prey to a rising number of scams. One particularly egregious case has drawn widespread outrage across China. A 19-year-old intellectually disabled teenager in Wuhan was tricked into undergoing breast augmentation surgery after being promised a job at a cosmetic surgery clinic. The scammers convinced him that the procedure would help him earn money by attracting followers through live streaming. The clinic even pressured the teenager to borrow 30,000 yuan ($4,180) to pay for the surgery.
His mother, who went on television to seek justice for her son, managed to get the loan cancelled with the help of the TV station and lawyers. However, the surgery had already been performed, leaving the teenager traumatised and physically scarred. “It pains me to see the two scars under my son’s chest,” she said in the interview.
The incident sparked outrage on China’s social media platform Weibo, where posts about the boy’s plight garnered more than 27 million views. “For the sake of money, one can give up one’s humanity,” commented one user, while another called the scammers “worse than beasts.”
Scams Reflecting Broader Economic Struggles
This case is not isolated. As China’s economy falters, scams related to non-existent jobs, false advertising, and loan traps are on the rise. Last year, the top legal prosecuting agency noted a sharp increase in the number of students and fresh graduates being targeted by such scams. The darkening outlook for jobs has even prompted some students to become scammers themselves, with a 68% rise in the number of minors prosecuted for phone and internet scams in the first 10 months of 2023.
Another recent scam involved a college student who was tricked into signing a year-long contract to rent an electric bicycle under the false pretence of securing a part-time job with a popular food delivery service. The student soon realised that his earnings were far below what was promised, leaving him struggling to pay the monthly rental fees.
Government Response and Future Outlook
The Chinese government has acknowledged the mounting pressure on young job seekers, with President Xi Jinping emphasising the importance of finding jobs for young people as a top priority. However, the current economic climate, coupled with the rise in scams, has made this task increasingly challenging.
Youth unemployment, coupled with the rise in exploitation and scams, paints a bleak picture for China’s younger generation. As the ruling Communist Party continues to urge people to “listen to the party,” the government faces growing pressure to implement effective policies to address the job crisis and protect vulnerable individuals from falling victim to scams.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
