Youth unemployment in China’s cities rose to a record 20.4 percent in April. The problem is likely to worsen as millions of college graduates enter the tight job market in the coming months.
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Beijing “Your heart beats! your blood is boiling! Fight! You are the best!” booms a loudspeaker voice from the stadium in the Chaoyang Sports and Leisure Park. More than 1,000 young Chinese are crowded into the parking lot next door. But it’s not about leisure time fun or sporting activities. It’s about jobs.
The local government of Beijing’s largest district organized a careers fair. Around 300 companies have set up their stands in neatly lined up small blue pavilions, are talking to job seekers and accepting almost 5,000 application folders. “Employment is important, both for the family and for society,” a local government official told the organizing team. Then he gets into a black Audi A8 and drives away.
In May, youth unemployment in China’s cities rose to 20.8 percent, the highest since the survey began in 2018. An estimated 24 million of 16- to 24-year-olds in China’s cities are unemployed.
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