1.24 million people enrolled in graduate school… 10 times more than 20 years ago
21.5% of undergraduate students at Hubei University in China engage in freelance activities
What are young Chinese people, who are experiencing severe employment difficulties, doing after graduating from college? Due to strategic competition between the U.S. and China, a slump in consumption due to the aftermath of COVID-19, and a worsening real estate market, China’s youth unemployment rate (for those aged 16 to 24, excluding current students) recorded 14.9% in December last year. The situation is worsening to the point that China’s National Bureau of Statistics stopped reporting youth unemployment rates in July last year.
On the 18th, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that an increasing number of Chinese university graduates are turning to ▲studying abroad or entering graduate school ▲looking for business through entrepreneurship ▲and finding freelance jobs. Graduates from wealthy families chose to study abroad or go to graduate school, and there were many cases of starting a business or finding a freelance job rather than signing an employment contract with fixed working hours.
◆Study rather than work… Increase in studying abroad and entering graduate school
The number of students choosing to study abroad after graduation has increased. Last year, 590 undergraduate students at Shanghai Tongji University chose to continue their studies abroad. This is a 13.6% increase compared to 547 people in 2022.
The number of students continuing their studies not only overseas but also in China has increased. According to China’s Ministry of Education, graduate school enrollment in China reached about 1.24 million last year. Compared to 128,500 in 2000, it has increased nearly 10 times.
SCMP analyzed that “students supported by wealthy families have become more interested in obtaining a higher degree than their desperation for employment.”
◆Employment contracts are a thing of the past… Freelance is the trend
The types of jobs that college graduates choose have also become more diverse. Previously, it was common to conclude an employment contract. However, now there has been an increase in the number of young people who are not bound by employment contracts and who are freelancing or starting their own businesses.
Chinese youth are finding jobs in fields such as live streaming, social media content creation, and food delivery.
These changes were also reflected in Chinese university reports. Many Chinese universities consider freelancers, entrepreneurs, etc. as employed. These people were classified as employed and reflected in statistics.
At Hubei University in China, 21.5% of undergraduate students last year became freelancers or worked without signing a work contract. It increased by 4.5 percentage points from 17% in 2019.
The situation is similar at Jilin University in China. Last year, the proportion of undergraduate students who were freelancers or started a business exceeded 4%. In 2019, it was less than 0.5%.
Feng Feng, chairman of the Guangdong System Reform Research Association, said, “In addition to the economic situation not significantly improving, the emergence of AI technology that can increase the possibility of companies reducing their workforce, and the lack of a noticeable recovery in the willingness to invest in the private sector, job creation is slowing down.” “It’s not increasing,” he said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.