Meanwhile China’s manufacturing sector alone faces a shortage of nearly 30 million workers this year.
More than 12 million new urban jobs have been added annually since the start of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, Zhou Haibing, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference on Wednesday (Jul 9).
Officials believe this year’s cohort would provide a much-needed injection of talent – but the reality on the ground is starkly different, experts said, with jobs remaining unfilled and many graduates unemployed.
“The mismatch between available jobs and young people’s skills or aspirations is becoming increasingly pronounced,” said Zhao Litao, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s East Asian Institute, noting that many openings were in sectors that did not appeal to most graduates.
“So even if jobs exist, they are not roles that many young people want or can afford to take after factoring in personal skills and social status,” he said.
Others noted how labour-intensive industries like construction, manufacturing and logistics offered steady work but were still struggling to attract young talent.
Dr Li Fei, a doctoral supervisor at Zhejiang University’s Institute for Science, Technology and Education Policy, said it was the result of a “mindset shift” among young Chinese graduates and jobseekers.
“Many prefer positions in emerging sectors or urban city jobs that feel more modern or socially valued, even if they come with greater competition,” he said.
Most young Chinese graduates would also turn away from factory jobs, Zhao said.
“They are looking for stability, decent pay and better work-life balance but (also face) a tough reality: slower economic growth, struggling businesses, rapid tech shifts and a job market that’s expanding fastest in low-skill, high-turnover service sectors.”
Even in future-facing sectors – from AI to clean energy – the future still feels frustratingly out of reach for many fresh graduates.
Cai Bao, a computer science graduate, thought his degree would be in demand but he soon found that much of what he had majored in did not match what companies were looking for.
The 22-year-old studied at the North University of China, a provincial public school in Shanxi province – and has chronicled his arduous job hunt journey on Chinese social media – with videos of his experiences amassing over 21,000 views on apps like Douyin and Xiaohongshu.
