After coronavirus pandemic, Chinese students grapple with first economic downturn of their lives
- Some 8.7 million Chinese university students are set to graduate this summer, but they will enter the worst job market in recent memory
- The coronavirus pushed China into its first economic contraction since 1976 in the first quarter, tightening competition for a dwindling number of graduate jobs
This is the fourth in a series of six stories exploring the causes and consequences of the domestic unemployment crisis China may face following the coronavirus pandemic. This story looks at the challenges facing China’s university graduates who will enter the worst job market in recent memory.
(This story has been corrected. For details, see the note at the end of the story.)
Su Yuxin has always looked forward to graduation. The 21-year-old dreams of making it as a hip-hop music producer. When she landed an internship at a famed music label in Beijing, she was excited to move on from her life in a lesser-known university in southern China.
Now, with a pandemic weighing on the global economy, millions of students like Su have bigger things to fret about than being unable to land a dream job out of the gate. Her internship at the music label ended abruptly in February when her employer laid off all interns in response to a new coronavirus that was spreading across the country.
“The uncertainty makes me scared,” said Su, who is now interning at an e-commerce company. “I am working as hard as I can to turn this internship into a job offer. If that fails, I might apply for graduate school overseas.”
Su is one of 8.7 million Chinese college students on track to graduate this summer, which is shaping up to be the worst possible time to enter the job market in recent memory.
