TL;DR intro
- The term "rotten-tail kids" reflects the growing unemployment crisis among China's youth.
- With a youth jobless rate exceeding 17%, many graduates are forced into low-paying jobs or relying on parental support.
Roughly 11.79 million college students graduated in 2024 into a challenging market still grappling with a real estate crisis stemming from regulatory crackdowns on several industries, notably finance and tech. After an unprecedented peak of 21.3% in youth unemployment in June 2023, officials suspended the publication of data to reassess counting methodologies, raising concerns about transparency in the reporting process.
The implications are severe. Higher education, once viewed as a surefire pathway to a successful career, is losing its allure. Many recent graduates find themselves in low-wage jobs, with some opting to assist their retired parents or entirely stepping back from the workforce. According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Education, a considerable number of graduates have encountered a job market that does not align with their qualifications or aspirations.
As highlighted by Yun Zhou, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, "better job prospects, upward social mobility, a sunnier life outlook – all things once promised by a college degree – have increasingly become elusive."
Disillusionment saturates the job-seeking experience for many recent graduates. Zephyr Cao, a recent master's degree holder from the prestigious China Foreign Affairs University, reflects the sentiment. After returning to his hometown in Hebei, he questioned the return on investment of his education when jobs offered less pay than he anticipated. "If I worked for three or four years after my undergraduate studies, my salary would probably be similar to what I get now with a master’s degree," Cao stated.
Amanda Chen, a graduate of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, highlights the emotional toll this experience can take. After just a month in a sales position, she quit due to a toxic work environment compounded by pay below minimum wage—earning only 60 yuan ($8.40) a day while working 12-hour shifts. Facing over 130 job applications, she expressed frustration over the lack of options that matched her education, leading her to reconsider her career trajectory entirely.
This young workforce frustration is concerning, particularly given a study published by China Higher Education Research, which estimates that the influx of tertiary students will outpace job demand from 2024 until 2037. With an expected peak of about 18 million new college graduates by 2034, the burden on the job market will only deepen—creating an even larger pool of non-employed graduates.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's administration recognizes the gravity of the situation, having emphasized the importance of job creation for the youth. His government is proactively facilitating job fairs and implementing supportive policies aimed at assisting young people in their quest for employment. However, many believe these efforts may not suffice to rectify the underlying issues plaguing the economy.
As it stands, many college graduates are left navigating a job market saturation, rooted in previous decades' education policies that have produced an expansive but underutilized workforce. The gaps in employment opportunities have created a serious disconnect between academic qualifications and industry needs, leaving a generation grappling with uncertainty and financial instability.
The youth unemployment rate in China has reached staggering levels, with the latest statistics indicating that 17.1% of young people aged 16 to 24 are jobless as of July 2024. This troubling trend has given rise to a new social phenomenon—graduating students calling themselves "rotten-tail kids." Reference to "rotten-tail buildings," which depict the numerous unfinished properties across the country, this phrase encapsulates the dashed hopes and unrealized potential of a generation of educated youth struggling to secure meaningful employment.