BEIJING (Reuters) -Rising unemployment in China is pushing millions of college graduates into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents' pensions, a plight that has created a new working class of "rotten-tail kids". The phrase has become a social media buzzword this year, drawing parallels to the catchword "rotten-tail buildings" for the tens of millions of unfinished homes that have plagued China's economy since 2021. A record number of college

BEIJING (Reuters) - Rising unemployment in China is pushing millions of college graduates into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents’ pensions, a plight that has created a new working class of “rotten-tail kids”.

The phrase has become a social media buzzword this year, drawing parallels to the catchword “rotten-tail buildings” for the tens of millions of unfinished homes that have plagued China’s economy since 2021.

A record number of college graduates this year are hunting for jobs in a labour market depressed by COVID-19-induced disruptions as well as regulatory crack-downs on the country’s finance, tech and education sectors.

The jobless rate for the roughly 100 million Chinese youth aged 16-24 crept above 20% for the first time in April last year. When it hit an all-time high of 21.3% in June 2023, officials abruptly suspended the data series to reassess how numbers were compiled.

  • @feedum_sneedsonEnglish
    17•27 days ago

    I am in my mid-thirties with a very good MSc and I am working as a labourer, I am not Chinese.

    • @[email protected]English
      16•27 days ago

      If you’re in the US start applying for Civil Service jobs. City, state or federal.

      You won’t get hired quickly, but when you do get hired you’ll have a great union and solid benefits.

        • @[email protected]English
          4•27 days ago

          I try not to be ‘that American’ who thinks everything works the same all around the globe.

          Good luck