Embracing “Full-Time Childhood"

A New Trend Among College Graduates in China

A novel trend is sweeping across recent Chinese college graduates; instead of pursuing careers, many are choosing to abandon job hunts in favor of returning to their family homes. With increasing postings on social media platforms, one might ask why these Chinese graduates prefer to become “full-time children” and, more crucially, how this phenomenon could impact the world’s second largest economy.

The term “full-time children” refers to college graduates who decide to move back in with their parents after failing to secure jobs. They contribute to the household by performing chores, preparing meals and receiving financial assistance from their parents.

To fully comprehend this situation, consider China’s broader demographic landscape. The country faces significant demographic challenges due to the insane one-child communist policy. In January 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported the first population decline, with a decrease of 0.85 million compared to the end of 2021 data. It is now expected that China’s population will continue to shrink, with estimates suggesting a 10-million reduction by 2030. China has entered a demographic winter, thanks in part to the dictatorial one-child policy.

Additionally, the United Nations Population Prospect of 2022 indicated that China’s working-age population of individuals aged 16 to 60 reached its highest point in 2012 at 926 million. The proportion of the working population has been in decline since 2009. These shifting conditions in labor market dynamics will adversely affect the nation’s economy and employment landscape, perhaps irreparably.

The Demographic Dilemma: Labor Market Trends in Western Nations and the Paradox of Joblessness in China

In most Western countries, this typical pattern emerges: A declining working population, increasing labor shortages and dipping unemployment rates. The well-informed younger generations are keenly aware of this phenomenon and optimistically see a bright future. A recent survey revealed that young workers between 20 and 29 from countries like Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. believe they hold a stronger bargaining position than their employers regarding job offers, but that does not hold true in China.

This outlook is not unfounded, as Generation Z possesses highly sought-after qualities by employers. They hold impressive levels of education and are proficient “digital natives” having grown up surrounded by technology. Additionally, with a smaller cohort in this age group, their value in the labor market is inherently high.

The Perplexing Correlation Between Overeducation and Joblessness in China

Meanwhile, China’s labor situation changes significantly as millions of new job seekers enter the market each year. The future brings yet more challenges, as an estimated 11.6 million college graduates are expected to join the workforce, according to CCP government officials. This is a staggering 1,200 percent more college graduates than 20 years ago.

Some troubling statistics highlight this shift. Specifically, the unemployment rate among young people aged 16 to 24 has reached a peak of 21.3 percent. This is in stark contrast to the country’s overall unemployment rate of 5.3 percent. So, why are so many well-educated graduates struggling to find employment or even considering returning to small family-run businesses?

Could this scenario be a manifestation of socialist caused demographic nightmares and political system failures? With the continued growth of higher education and the resulting overeducation, this paradoxical relationship between education and unemployment serves as a cautionary tale. As we observe these trends, it’s crucial to consider the structural changes required to bring balance to the labor market in countries across the globe. Let us look at some factors contributing to China’s well-educated, unemployed youth.

Limited High-Paying, High-Skilled Job Opportunities

One of the most significant challenges contributing to youth unemployment in China is the scarcity of high-skilled, well-paying jobs. While the nation’s industrial structure has transformed somewhat, the shift from labor-intensive sectors to valuable high-tech and service industries has not kept up at all leaving a plethora of low-paying blue-collar jobs that college graduates do not want.

An Excess of Highly Educated Young People

China boasts the world’s largest education system that has produced many highly qualified young individuals. This, however, has led to a situation where there are more well-educated youth than available suitable job openings, highlighting a disconnect between their educational background and the job market’s current needs. This mismatch is the result of the artificiality of communism. A cadre of bureaucrats that do not respect the natural ebb and flow of a free market economy.

Skill Misalignment

Many Chinese job seekers aim for positions in competitive industries such as real estate, finance and private education. Unfortunately, only a handful of individuals can secure such employment. Though job opportunities might be available in fields like manufacturing and agriculture, these options typically do not align with the aspirations of these youth, deepening the gap between desired and accessible positions. They did not go to college to take a job in a factory or work in the countryside for low pay.

Rising Living Expenses

The problem of youth unemployment is further aggravated by the growing cost of living, which has surpassed wage growth rates. Consequently, many young graduates are unwilling to accept the compensation packages offered by companies, eventually opting to become “full-time children” and move back in with their parents, where they become financially reliant on them.

As China continues to recover from the government imposed zero-Covid policy, it faces a demographic nightmare of its own making from the draconian shut-downs, and finding solutions to these issues will prove very difficult. Analyzing and addressing the chaos caused by the CCP and understanding how to improve job placement for new generations will be essential to alleviating youth unemployment in China. A solution seems unlikely as Xi Jinping and the CCP never see communism as the cause of China’s failures.

Attempting to Overcome the Failures of Communism Through Automation and High-Skill Job Creation

The scarcity of well-paying, high-skill job opportunities presents a severe challenge for the career progression of an entire generation. Many young adults, having devoted years to their education, find themselves financially reliant on their families and struggle to achieve financial independence. They simply are not willing to accept mediocre compensation for a high-stress, skilled position. Additionally, when young individuals settle for low-skilled or unrelated positions, developing the skills and experience needed to advance in their careers becomes exponentially challenging.

Aligning Skills with Job Requirements: A Crucial Lesson to Learn

Another critical aspect to consider is the importance of matching personal skills with job demands. A misalignment of this nature adversely affects an individual’s motivation and causes decreased efficiency, inevitably hindering the individual’s and the nation’s economic growth. This problem is not an isolated case, rather it is prevalent among the majority of college grads in China today.

Increased Salaries Encourages the Development of Automation

The rising cost of living has placed immense stress on younger generations, with many finding it difficult to meet their basic expenses. Raising salaries, might satisfy personal financial needs, but it would also encourage companies to automate routine tasks to save money, thus eliminating jobs in the process. This ultimately results in reallocating workers to more highly-skilled positions of which there are less of.

Despite the contrasting labor market situation in China, with the “full-time children” phenomenon, analogous trends such as “lying flat,” the voluntary withdrawal from societal expectations of overworking and overachieving, can also be observed in other markets. Conversations regarding the younger generation’s criticism of existing work models are gaining momentum and, rightly so, the CCP is very concerned with China’s future with no easy solution in sight.

The CCP will have to seriously re-evaluate the severe demographic imbalance it has caused and simultaneously deal with the massive discouragement resulting from the overemphasis on higher education without real employment prospects. The trends of “full-time children” and “lying flat” are not going away, they are growing. If not solved, it will overburden the CCP’s ability to sustain a growing, non-productive portion of society, thus crushing Xi Jinping’s dream of world dominance by devastating China’s economy.