China’s gig workers becoming new normal, but ‘inevitable trend’ comes with a burden
- China has around 200 million gig workers who make a living from various temporary jobs, but they lack the security of traditional employment
Over the past five years, Shao Zhen has mostly been a gig worker, making a living from various temporary jobs including as a vlogger sharing his home decoration experience and a loudspeaker manufacturer and seller.
Before that, the 43-year-old from eastern China’s Zhejiang province had taken up several full-time contracts, including working in a bank and in a computer store, but quit after being “fed up with all the boredom and low pay”.
“In a sense I work gig jobs at my own instigation, but I may also say it’s a forced option because I can’t find satisfactory formal employment,” he said.
Shao is among a growing number who are embracing flexible work amid the rise of the digital economy and growing competition for formal job opportunities as growth of the world’s second-largest economy slows.
In China, the most common forms of gig workers include freelancers, food delivery riders, live-streaming broadcasters and ride-hailing drivers.
Flexible employment is now in every industry and every field, becoming a new normal of the labour market
The number of gig workers stood at around 200 million over the past three years, representing about 23 per cent of China’s working population, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.