China jobs: is ‘flexible’ work the only solution to unemployment woes?
- With youth joblessness reaching a record high, some universities are again trying to pad the employment figures among graduates by pushing students into freelancing and entrepreneurships
- The flexibly employed are not bound by formal employment contracts, but ‘not everyone can handle this much freedom’
The pressure from career counsellors at her university in northern China’s Hebei province became too much for Kayla Liu to bear – she had to find employment, no matter what.
So, the 21-year-old English major, unable to secure a full-time job after months of searching, opted to become an entrepreneur – selling handmade beaded bracelets on e-commerce site Taobao.
Liu said staff from her university have been coercing graduates-to-be to sign “flexible employment” contracts – a directive she suspects is aimed at reducing the unemployment rate of fresh graduates so it does not reflect poorly on her school.
It’s like we aren’t allowed to be unemployed upon graduation
“It feels like our university is pushing those who cannot get into graduate school or find a job to apply for flexible employment and to get proof of employment. They will do anything to boost their employment rate. It’s like we aren’t allowed to be unemployed upon graduation,” she said.
“This adds to the psychological pressure of fresh graduates who are already struggling to find a job in this grim job market.”
The unemployment rate among 16- to 24-year-olds in China hit a record high of 20.4 per cent in April, after rising from 19.6 per cent in March. And more than 11 million fresh graduates are expected to join the labour market this summer.
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Liu’s online shop, which brings in around 300 yuan (US$42) a week, makes enough to sustain her daily expenses while she hunts for a full-time job.
And her situation is far from unique. Many students say they are pressured by their schools to secure employment before graduation – a phenomenon that Chinese media brought to light during the 2022 graduation season.
Last June, Caixin reported that students from graduating classes had been told that they would not receive their graduation certificates if they did not submit proof of employment.
China’s Ministry of Education responded by warning tertiary institutes against misreporting employment figures, and vowing to investigate any reports accordingly.
The ministry said schools were not allowed to force or entice students to sign employment or labour contracts, could not withhold graduation certificates as means to coerce students to sign employment contracts, nor could they make students sign a false proof of employment.
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By identifying as a “flexible” worker, Liu has joined the likes of millions of freelancers across China. According to the most recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, China had 200 million “flexible workers” by the end of 2021, nearly three times more than in 2020.
More than 16 per cent of all college graduates in China in 2020 and 2021 chose flexible employment, according to data from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Centre.
Those who are flexibly employed are not bound by formal employment contracts and include those working part-time, temporary and seasonal jobs, as well as freelancers and entrepreneurs.
With the growth of the gig and digital economy, flexible workers in China are finding employment in a range of sectors, including food delivery, street vending, live-streaming, and social media content creation.
It feels like everyone is fighting for the same few positions
Local governments across the country in recent weeks have also bumped up their support for the flexibly employed, with Hubei, Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces setting up mobile stations to help jobseekers find such work.
With more than one in five Chinese aged 16 to 24 unemployed, flexible employment appears to be one of the solutions for lowering China’s record-high youth unemployment rate – an issue compounded by a shrinking and ageing population.
“It feels like everyone is fighting for the same few positions,” said Chelsea Li, a human resources major from Chengdu.
The 22-year-old, who abandoned hope of finding work on recruitment platforms such as Boss Zhipin and Zhilian Zhaopin, has decided to start her own street-vending business selling cupcakes and desserts. By making around 60 portions at a rented kitchen in the morning, she is able to earn about 500 yuan every day.
“Frankly, this is the happiest I’ve been since graduating, it gives me a sense of satisfaction. Job hunting and sending in resumes is an exhausting process,” she said.
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For some of China’s young people, the option of flexible employment coupled with digitalisation and the rise of new media means they are no longer sticking to traditional notions of work.
Leon Liu, a 26-year-old architecture graduate, said that with flexible employment he can afford to spend half his year travelling while working completely remotely.
“My family was not very supportive at first and initially wanted me to find a permanent job in a company, but I feel that this sort of flexibility is more realistic,” said Liu, who is currently based in Shanghai. “Now that I have gotten the hang of managing my own workload and income, they are more accepting of my lifestyle.”
Liu, who is fluent in English, French and German, teaches languages online and started a business coordinating cultural exchanges between students from China and the Middle East. He is also a freelance consultant for engineering and architecture projects.
“Working online and being my own boss has given me so much joy, and what I earn is enough to sustain my travels,” he said. “I get to choose whom I work with, what projects to work on, and can do things that are truly meaningful to me, like interacting with people from different cultures.”
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Summer Huang, a 33-year-old based in Guangzhou, quit her job at a tech company two years ago and started taking on clients as an independent social media manager while freelance writing and creating content for the online lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu.
Her monthly income ranges from 20,000-50,000 yuan, depending on the jobs she takes on.
“Not everyone can handle this much freedom,” warned Huang, who works four days a week. “Honestly, sometimes it is even more tiring than working at my previous full-time job. You are your own boss. If you stop working, the money stops coming in.
“You need to be prepared for instability. Income can be unpredictable. That’s the trade-off for having more freedom.”
Lu Sina, 28, quit her full-time job at a maternity-products company in 2022, after working there for three years. She is now a freelance operations consultant and career adviser based in Hangzhou, earning around 20,000 yuan a month.
Being flexibly employed … We feel more free to pursue what we want
Her first attempt at entrepreneurship failed in 2016, when she found that running her own travel agency was too exhausting, largely due to her lack of expertise.
This time around, Lu spent nine months planning ahead, saving money and detailing her strategies to ensure a steady income flow before quitting her job.
“Although I’m now earning a little less than my previous job, I have a lot more freedom, spending time with my family, and have more chances to gain more life experiences like while travelling. I think the trade-off is worth it. I don’t see myself returning to a traditional role in the near future,” Lu said.
Being flexibly employed also resulted in her rethinking other possibilities in life.
“Now, I’m looking to further my studies,” she said. “I have other friends in their thirties who are also flexibly employed, and many of them said they feel like applying for schools or programmes that they didn’t manage to get into when they were younger.
“I feel like being flexibly employed makes us feel less restricted by our age or life stage. We feel more free to pursue what we want.”
