The Chinese province of Guangdong has proposed sending 300,000 unemployed youth to rural areas to alleviate youth unemployment. The announcement comes after President Xi Jinping in December urged urban youth to seek jobs in the countryside to "revitalize the rural economy."
- The unemployment rate among 16-24-year-olds in urban areas in China is 19.6%.
- The job
market is set to become even more competitive, as almost 12 million
people are expected to graduate from college this year in China.
- The government's restrictive Zero Covid policies, which were lifted
in late 2022, and regulatory hurdles for internet and real estate
companies may have contributed to an economic slowdown and lack of work
opportunities for the youth.
- George Magnus, an associate at
Oxford University’s China Centre said the policy proposal could seek to
prevent unrest among "disaffected youth."
- Chinese state media, however, has accused young graduates of being "too picky" and not wanting to do manual labor.
- Between the 1950s and 1970s, Mao Zedong launched the “Down to the Countryside Movement,” sending tens of millions of urban college-educated youth to work in agricultural areas.
