“Emigration is a hot topic”
For a long time, everything for graduates in China was focused on performance and career. But the mood is changing. Four young Chinese people tell their story.
“Emigration is a hot topic” – Page 1
More than eleven million university graduates have entered the Chinese job market this year. Not all of them find the job they were hoping for, and many come away empty-handed. The economy is weakening and the unemployment rate is high, especially among younger people – one in five people between the ages of 16 and 24 is unemployed in China. But it is not just the difficulties of finding a job that concern young Chinese. Many find the idea of emigrating attractive. And they question social certainties. Four transcripts from conversations with young people provide personal insights into their thoughts and worries about the current mood in the People's Republic.
“For most people, life is just about money”
Queque, 26 years old, civil servant, resident of Chongqing
After two years of corona isolation, it was clear that China's economy would experience a downturn. This year, the government stopped publishing unemployment figures for young people. Finding work that pays well and doesn't completely drain you has become almost impossible. Due to the competence of those in power and the economic cycle, I personally believe that the economic downturn will continue for a long time.
This means that lower and middle class people will continue to have difficulty finding good jobs. We Chinese grew up in an environment where exams play a big role, so I think we are good at adapting to new situations. Changes in social conditions can be painful, yes. But adapting to them means we survive. I am embarrassed to admit that we are dissatisfied with society and at the same time feel unable to change that. I currently work in a state-owned company that is very market-oriented in terms of management. I have to be at work by 9 a.m. Besides the lunch break, which lasts about an hour, I take short breaks in between and I finish work around 5.30 p.m. But I am often very busy and work on weekends too. Sometimes I feel guilty because I may not work as much as others around me. In China, there are enough people who can do your job just as well if you don't want to do it.
In non-state-owned companies, you can be fired for a variety of reasons, even if you get older. Labor laws in China don't offer perfect protection against this. State-owned companies in China don't usually fire employees so quickly unless they make a big mistake. In China, women can retire at 55 and men at 60. But I'm afraid I'll be totally worn out by the time I'm 50. I heard about a study that says that every year you work costs you two years of life once you're over 50.
It's amazing: Chinese society seems to believe in nothing: some people live for their family, others don't know why they live, but everyone's life seems to be about money. I hope that everything slows down a little and that we can take a moment to see the beauty of life and understand that there is more to the world than just money. It seems to me sometimes that everyone is blinded by something that creates a strong hostility among people. Something that makes us lose the sense of goodness and beauty. When it comes to social justice and class, I feel that all of East Asia is in a state of oppression. And that stirs resistance in me. I have thought about emigrating before, but I grew up with only one parent and my heart is very attached to my mother. So I want to stay with her and take care of her. There are many reasons to leave China, but this one reason is enough for me to stay. Chinese family ties are very strong, but they can also be a burden.
“We need fewer idiots”
Qiqi, 31 years old, skateboarder from Beijing
These days it's relatively easy to get a job you like, but it's really hard to keep it and make a living out of it. I have hope for the future because I'm working hard to achieve my own goals, but I still need financial help from others. I'm a freelancer, mostly working on my band and my own skateboard brand. There's pressure and competition in all industries, no matter how much people pretend to be friendly and good to each other. Who doesn't hope their competitors throw in the towel?
I don't think much about things like retirement yet. But I am worried about how I will live when I am older. (laughs) If I had more money, I would like to travel, especially to Japan. For the future, I hope that more young people will listen to good music, come into contact with more beautiful things and that there will be fewer idiots.
“Women over 30 have a hard time in China’s job market”
Yang, 35 years old, advertising specialist from Shanxi, studying in Berlin since 2022
Until last year, I worked for an internet company in Beijing. It was actually an interesting job. I did campaigns for well-known brands. But every day was also incredibly stressful. Six days a week, often until late at three or four in the morning. I still had to be in the office early in the morning. The pressure was high. No one wanted to be the first to say: Oh, I'm going home now, I need a bit of free time. On the contrary: everyone wanted to prove that they could work even more and better than the others. Everyone was in competition with everyone else! Compared to European countries, there are many more people in China. Thousands of university graduates compete for the same jobs. People who want to start families and then have to support them.
“In Europe you can continue to have a career even after you’re over 40”
If you are a woman and over 30, working life in China is even tougher. In April 2022, almost exactly a month after I turned 35, a supervisor told me that it would now be even harder for me to get promoted. And that many companies no longer want to hire people at that age. But such things did not only come from her, but also from friends. Many of my female colleagues became increasingly nervous after a certain age and were afraid of losing their jobs.
After the Covid pandemic, many companies in China laid off employees to cut costs, including mine. 30 percent of employees had to go, especially the older ones, but also those who were still doing internships or trainees. I also lost my job. I wasn't shocked when it happened, I had seen it coming. So I thought about how I could change my life. Of course, I was worried about my income and the cost of living, but I was able to do enough smaller projects freelance.
During this time, I started learning better English so I could go abroad and study there. I always had the desire to live in another country. Berlin was more of a random choice. I visited here in 2018 with my then partner, I liked the graffiti, the streets, the rivers and the parks. And I have a few friends who already live here. But there were other reasons for me to leave China. I come from a traditional family. My parents hope that I will get married before I'm too old. But that seems to have already happened. (laughs) If I could change something about Chinese society, I would convince people to focus more on their own business areas, i.e. to establish their own start-ups or online platforms.
And what I would definitely change is this ageism! Not just for women, but for men too. In China, many companies openly state in their job advertisements that applicants over 35 will not be accepted. And that's in what feels like 90 percent of the advertisements! That's crazy. In Europe, you can still have a career even if you're over 40. That's very different to China. I think many younger Chinese have now realized that this type of job market is unfair. They are smart enough to find a better balance between their job and their health. I'm optimistic about the future. It will get better, I'm sure of that.
“Maybe I won’t be able to take care of myself”
JL, designer, 29 years old, from Hebei
I work as a freelance designer. At first it wasn't easy to make ends meet, but in the last few years it's gotten better. I have new orders basically every month, and I'm also working on some personal projects. After graduating, I changed companies about half a dozen times until I finally found one that suited me. I worked there for five years before deciding to go freelance. I don't really know what the job market looks like these days, and I don't really care. I've realized in the last two years that there is no such thing as unemployment and retirement if you do what you love and can make a living from it.
I don't know what will happen in the future, maybe I won't have a pension when I'm old because I don't work for a "normal" big company and I'm not on social security. Maybe I won't be able to support myself... I hope I can think of a solution before that happens.
The topic of emigration has been the hottest topic in China in recent years, and I would also like to live somewhere else. I would like to live in an environment with a different system, experience a different culture. But at the moment it is not clear which country would be the most suitable for me. What would I change about today's society if I could? For my own safety, I prefer not to answer this question.