China’s private sector ‘uncertainty’ is pushing young jobseekers to look for work in its vast bureaucracy
- Millions of talented young Chinese are rejecting the private sector and settling for stable jobs with the nation’s vast civil service
- Economic uncertainty following the pandemic, a gruelling private sector work culture and good salaries are all luring new graduates
Sick of working long hours for average pay, Dong Liang is looking to throw in his job at a small tech company in Shenzhen for work with China’s civil service.
The 24-year-old from Huizhou city in Guangdong province is one of millions of young Chinese desperate to find steady work in a time of deep economic uncertainty following the coronavirus pandemic.
Though he has been employed in China’s fast-growing tech sector since he graduated in 2018, the country’s vast bureaucracy holds an irresistible allure, promising a stable career for life and a host of benefits.
“I have been working a lot of overtime in the past two years and the tech company’s future is so uncertain,” he said a day before an interview for a provincial civil service job.
Every workmate beyond 35 likes talks about their concern over job losses in Shenzhen – it’s just exhausting
“Every workmate beyond 35 likes talks about their concern over job losses in Shenzhen – it’s just exhausting.”