Kaya Liu, an English major at a university in Hebei Province, China, said teachers at her school required graduating students to sign “flexible employment” contracts.
This is considered a way to reduce the unemployment rate of new graduates, helping to raise the status of that school.
Pressure from career counselors at college left Kayla Liu feeling stressed and determined to find a job at all costs.
Unable to find a full-time job after months of searching, Liu turned to selling online on e-commerce site Taobao. Liu’s online store brings in about 300 yuan (about 1 million VND) a week, enough to cover her daily expenses while she looks for a full-time job.
Many university graduates choose to become flexible employees such as food delivery, street vendors... to make a living.
By identifying as a “flexible” worker, Liu joins millions of freelancers across China. According to the most recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, China had 200 million “flexible workers” at the end of 2021, nearly three times the number in 2020.
The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in China hit a record high of 20.4% in April, up from 19.6% in March. More than 11 million new college graduates are expected to enter the job market this summer.
Kayla Liu’s case is not unique. Many Chinese students say they are pressured by their schools to secure jobs before graduation — a phenomenon that Chinese media has highlighted during the 2022 graduation season.
Last June, Caixin reported that the school had told students they would not receive their diplomas if they did not submit proof of employment. China’s Ministry of Education has warned schools against underreporting employment data and pledged to investigate any schools found to be underreporting.
The Ministry of Education recommends that schools must not force or entice students to sign labor or employment contracts. Schools also cannot withhold diplomas to force students to sign labor contracts, nor can they force students to sign false proof of employment.
According to data from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Guidance Center, more than 16% of all college graduates in China in 2020 and 2021 chose flexible employment.
With the rise of the digital economy, flexible workers in China are finding jobs in a variety of fields, including food delivery, street vending, livestreaming, and social media content creation.
With more than one in five Chinese aged 16 to 24 unemployed, flexible working appears to be one solution to China's record-high youth unemployment rate - a problem compounded by a shrinking and ageing population.
But some recent college graduates are comfortable being flexible employees. Chelsea Li, a human resources management student in Chengdu, gave up hope of finding a job on recruitment platforms like Boss Zhipin and Zhilian Zhaopin. She decided to start a street bakery and dessert business. Li earns 500 yuan ($75) a day from sales.
"This is the happiest I've been since graduating, it gives me a sense of satisfaction. Looking for a job and sending out resumes is a tiring process," Li said.
For some young Chinese, flexible employment options coupled with digitization and the rise of new media mean they are no longer tied to traditional notions of work.
Leon Liu, a 26-year-old architecture graduate, said that with flexible work, he can spend half the year traveling, while working completely remotely.
“At first, my family was not supportive and wanted me to find a stable job, but I feel this kind of flexibility is more practical. Now I am used to managing my workload and income,” said Leon Liu. In addition to freelance consulting on engineering and architectural projects, Liu, fluent in English, French and German, also teaches foreign languages online and runs a company that coordinates cultural exchanges between Chinese and Middle Eastern students.
“Working online and being my own boss brings me a lot of joy and the money I make is enough to sustain my travels. I can choose who I work with, what projects to work on, do things that are truly meaningful, like interacting with people from different cultures,” Liu said.
Summer Huang, 33, from Guangzhou, quit her job at a tech company two years ago and started working as a freelance social media manager, writing and creating content for online lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu. She earns between 20,000 and 50,000 yuan (about 70 million to 170 million VND) a month, depending on the amount of work she takes on.
Although freelance work only requires four days a week, Huang admits: "Sometimes it's more tiring than my previous full-time job. You're your own boss. If you stop working, the money stops coming. You have to be prepared for instability. Income can be unpredictable. That's the trade-off for more freedom."
Dieu Anh (Source: SCMP)
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