China’s job market faces unprecedented challenges as a record-breaking 12.22 million university graduates enter the workforce this year. The fierce competition for limited job openings has led to intense interview processes, with some internships requiring up to five rounds of interviews. Many graduates, like Milan from Shenzhen, have spent their entire winter break attending job interviews.
Milan, seeking opportunities in the gaming industry, said, “Everyone is used to intense competition now. There are very few job openings, and many people are applying—thousands of candidates competing for just two positions—so the selection process has become extremely strict.”
The situation is even more dire for those who struggle to find interviews. Wu, a soon-to-be graduate from Chongqing, majored in architecture but was ultimately sent by his school to work in a factory through a university-enterprise partnership.
China’s challenging graduate unemployment crisis
Wu was frustrated, saying, “Finding a job is extremely difficult. I’ve tried many positions, but they either don’t need people, or my degree isn’t enough.”
According to a report by Zhaopin Recruitment, the employment rate of Chinese university graduates dropped from 57.6% in 2023 to 55.5% in 2024.
The Chinese government has introduced policies to expand employment and entrepreneurship channels for college graduates, such as strengthening labor rights protections for flexible employment and emerging job sectors. However, some analysts argue that these policies have had limited real-world impact. Wu from Chongqing said he has yet to receive any assistance from employment support programs, while Milan in Shenzhen believes that the government’s push for “flexible employment” may provide temporary relief but lacks long-term job security.
Fang Congyan, an assistant research fellow at the Institute for Chinese Communist Party Political-Military and Operational Concepts, analyzed the core issue as the lack of job openings. Fang stated, “The phrase ‘graduation means unemployment’ is now a very accurate description of China’s job market for fresh graduates. The government is desperately trying to lower the unemployment rate, but these measures don’t address the underlying issue: the need for more job openings.”
As the number of graduates increases each year, experts suggest that only economic recovery can truly alleviate the pressure on China’s job market.