China's employment pressures have worsened this year, with a lack of solutions to boost jobs

And Feng said this is partly due to workers' worries about losing their jobs, making them more likely to jump ship for a modest salary rather than a higher-paying job.

Meanwhile, instability in international relations led to reduced revenue and subsequent job cuts.

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„Selling to the US and European markets has become a real challenge … so now companies are left with markets in Southeast Asia and other Belt and Road countries, but they have limited purchasing capabilities,” Feng added. China's decade-long trade network, the Belt and Road Initiative.

„The pressure will worsen this year,” Feng warned. „There doesn't seem to be any obvious solution.”

As the world's second-largest economy continues to be buffeted by headwinds including property-sector woes, slumping investment, uncertain export prospects and geopolitical tensions, financially distressed companies across the country are being forced to cut their workforces.

Average monthly wages in 38 major Chinese cities fell 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, marking the biggest quarterly drop since 2016, according to Zhilian Zhaopin, China's online recruiting site.

China's private sector — which accounts for more than 60 percent of China's GDP, more than 80 percent of its urban jobs and consists mostly of small and medium-sized businesses — has taken a huge hit.

„The current problem is a large number of private firms going out of business and a surge of failed entrepreneurial ventures,” said Cui Ernan, an analyst at China-facing macroeconomic research firm Kavegal Draconomics.

„Failure startups then lead to unemployment, creating a fundamentally unstable employment environment.”

Cui pointed out that the first quarter is on track to worsen compared to last year as the pressure of the economic slowdown, especially the country's real estate crisis, worsens the markets, and „still shows no sign of stabilization”.

“As for the next developments, that is not certain yet [job] The market may rebound in the second or third quarter,” Cui added. „Regulators are making significant efforts to stabilize the market, implementing various stimulus measures.

„If the combined effects of these policies yield concrete results, economic stability is absolutely incredible, and there is a glimmer of hope.”

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To boost demand, more aggressive stimulus measures are needed, Cui said, including a broader relaxation of asset purchase limits, and more comprehensive monetary and fiscal policies, including interest rate cuts.

Another knock-on effect of China's sluggish job market is that recruitment services have suffered staff cuts and closures.

According to data from Qichacha, one of China's largest corporate-database operators, the number of newly established companies offering human resources and headhunting-related services fell to 5,800 at the end of last year – down to 41,200 in 2019 and 25,100 in 2020. .

According to Jillian Jobs, prospective employees looking for flexible work made up 23.2 percent of all job seekers in the first quarter of last year — up from 18.6 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

That data is consistent with increasingly popular anecdotal evidence of well-educated graduates working as cabbies and delivery drivers.

„In times of economic uncertainty, as opportunities in the job market are not increasing, people facing pressure choose transitional employment until they can secure a full-time position in their desired field,” said Li Qiang, an executive. Vice President with Zhilian Zhaopin.

„By 2024, the job market will face pressure as people not only focus on survival concerns, but job seekers also want fulfilling and relevant positions.”

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While a growing portion of them have said they are opting for advanced degrees and further studies, thus delaying their entry into the market, those who decide to seek employment may face an appetite for green hands, as complex companies allocate fewer employees to experienced workers. workers.

„In the past, fresh graduates would be given entry-level positions to train and learn, but that's no longer the case – companies want people who already have knowledge and can provide practical solutions,” Feng said.

Beijing abruptly stopped publishing China's youth-unemployment rate in July. From April to June, more than one in five young people were unemployed.

Despite the lower adjusted numbers, analysts say underlying problems are being overlooked in the absence of significant economic developments and sentiment changes.

And in the face of intensifying domestic competition, more job seekers are looking overseas for work, along with the global trend of Chinese companies.

According to a report released late last year by talent recruitment platform Liepin, new jobs posted in overseas territories increased by 44.4 percent in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

At the same time, the number of jobseekers abroad rose by 92.9 percent in the first half of last year.

Nearly 30 percent of foreign job seekers hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the report said.