【双语阅读】本周封面:就业关如何过(中)

文摘   2024-09-26 18:01   北京  

Declining Demand

China's post-pandemic recovery is widening the gap between overall labor market improvement and soaring unemployment for young people. In the first seven months of 2024, while the national urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1%, the rate for 16- to 24-year-olds was a staggering 14.9%.

今年1月—7月,全国城镇调查失业率平均值为5.1%,比上年同期下降0.2个百分点,而城镇16—24岁调查失业率平均值为14.9%,是平均失业水平的2.9倍。青年失业率和整体失业率的分化正在加大。


Despite the rebounding fortunes for some industries, college recruitment remains sluggish. Companies are cautious about hiring recent graduates, favoring experienced workers, said Feng at 51job. Campus recruiting is often limited to filling new positions, and hiring reflects a company’s willingness to make long-term investments in talent, she said.

A survey by 51job.com found that less than 30% of employers are hiring as many new graduates as last year. That suggests that the latest crop of college-educated job seekers is competing for a shrinking pool of positions.


Further complicating the employment picture is a mismatch between supply and demand in the job market. More than 60% of graduates in 2024 submitted resumes to central state-owned enterprises. Yet, private enterprises, which offer more than half of all jobs, received applications from just 18% of the recent degree recipients. Emerging industries like new energy and semiconductors are growing but haven't offset the hiring decline at large employers in more traditional sectors like internet, education and real estate.

2021年以来,业内曾有学者以“旧三大”和“新三大”来概括新一轮大学生就业市场需求侧最明显的变化。所谓“旧三大”,即曾被誉为“校招三巨头”的互联网、教育、房地产;“新三大”则是新能源、新能源汽车、半导体等先进制造业“后起之秀”。


困难在于,目前“旧三大”需求回升力度有限,“新三大”的就业替代不足。


Web-based businesses, formerly major employers, have significantly downsized. Companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu that previously were previously aggressive hirers have recently reduced their payrolls, with Alibaba cutting over 13% of its staff. The internet sector, which has shifted toward cutting costs and boosting efficiencies, accounts for less than 10% of the total hiring of this year’s graduating class, according to Mao Yufei, a professor at Capital University of Economics and Business and a researcher at the China Institute for Employment Research at Renmin University of China.

大学生关注度最高、就业竞争最激烈的“大厂”,颇有“此起彼伏”之势:曾在2021年创造“史上最大规模校招”的百度、阿里巴巴、腾讯,近两年连续减员,力度最大的阿里巴巴员工数减超13%。与之相对,美团近三年校招规模稳中有增,拼多多、京东员工数量还在不断增长,其中京东2024届校招拿出1.5万个岗位,2025届校招放出1.2万个应届岗、6000个实习岗,被称一次招了一个“拼多多”。


In other sectors, recovery remains slow. Education, for example, was once a booming industry, but the “double reduction” policy—designed to reduce the burden of homework and after-school tutoring—has slashed the number of tutoring jobs to below 4% of total hiring for new graduates this year. Meanwhile, the real estate industry remains depressed. More than half of all jobs in the sector have disappeared this year.

2024年8月,国务院发布《关于促进服务消费高质量发展的意见》,释放“激发教育和培训消费活力”的信号,甚至一度被市场误读为“教培回春”。但从实际就业上看,“双减”持续推进,教培业或许再难回归2021年初时“十几个教培岗位抢一个大学生”的盛况。


毛宇飞告诉财新,综合2024年二季度高校就业市场数据,教培行业需求集中度不到4%、就业景气指数小于0.5,同比、环比均有下降。


Emerging industries, such as new energy and semiconductors, offer some hope for job-seekers but recruitment is selective. These fields require specialized talent, often with advanced degrees. For example, BYD, a leader in new energy vehicles, has more than halved its college recruiting this year from 30,000 in 2023.

The semiconductor industry, once known for soaring salaries and high demand for talent, is also cooling off. Companies are now more selective, with larger firms choosing carefully from among an oversupply of graduates.

相较于此前吸纳了大量本科生的教培、地产业,许多新质产业岗位对人才创新力、专业对口性要求更高。据麦可思《2024年中国本科生就业报告》,近三年应届本科毕业生直接从事“人工智能工程技术人员”职业的比例只有0.3%,毕业五年后从事该职业的比例才上升到1.5%,其中获得研究生学历的占比接近八成,一流大学生源占七成以上。


Job Seekers’ Shifting Expectations

Students enter the exam site of the National Civil Service Examination at Nanjing Forestry University on Nov. 26, 2023.

The elevated career expectations of graduates in this century is widening the disconnect in China’s job market. Many human resources professionals report that social media-fueled ambitions for high-paying tech jobs have led to inflated salary demands, leaving many graduates dissatisfied with available positions.

不少受访企业HR烦恼地称,一些高校毕业生对自身规划、市场行情缺乏了解,加之社交媒体上动辄渲染“在大厂工作”“月薪过万”,令学生对工作环境、薪资待遇等要求“虚高”。


Zhang, the HR manager, said graduates who have failed public service exams often enter the job market unprepared, seeking salaries far above industry standards. Similarly, Yang Jian, who works in recruitment for a small automation company, said the unrealistic expectations of recent degree-recipients, and their reluctance to accept lower-paying jobs, has led her company to stop hiring new graduates altogether.

张栋提到,每年考公考编考研出分后,都会迎来一批新求职的“落榜”学生,其中许多“两眼一抹黑”“非常稚嫩”。线下招聘会上,他遇到学生在自身条件不太优秀的情况下,索要远超行业标准的高薪资,且强调“低于这个价格不会考虑”。


Young job seekers feel powerless in an employer’s market. Basic benefits like an eight-hour workday and paid social insurance are now seen as luxuries. Researchers at Renmin University of China found young employees toiling under harsh conditions, working an average of 251.9 hours per month with low social security coverage from employers.

从企业视角,这是缺乏对行业和真实就业市场的客观认识。而在学生看来,这是求职者话语权的逐渐流失——当就业从卖方市场变为买方市场,“坐地起价”谈薪越来越难。“不愿低就”的门槛或只是八小时工作制、周末双休、合规的“五险一金”,但连这也渐成奢求。


Stability is now a priority for many young job seekers. While state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and government jobs attract nearly half of all 2024 graduates, applicants face fierce competition for these roles. More than 3 million candidates vied for 39,600 positions in this year’s National Civil Service Examination, a standardized test used to select candidates for civil service positions.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, which have numerous jobs available, are less appealing due to their instability. Only 12.5% of 2024 graduates showed interest in private companies, according to the Zhaopin.com survey.


Some graduates are turning to the gig economy, taking jobs as delivery drivers or nannies. Scholars warn that these low-skill roles may trap them in a cycle of de-skilling, limiting long-term career prospects. Others are opting for “slow employment,” delaying their entry into the workforce while being selective. Experts caution that a prolonged absence from employment could harm their skills and social integration, negatively affecting future employability.

但也有学者担忧,从人力资本角度,这部分群体暂无意向进入就业市场、造成劳动参与率下降,且因为存在专业能力退步、与社会脱节风险,可能影响社会整体的劳动力供给质量。



Writing by Denise Jia



关注我们,更多精彩等你发现

Twitter|Caixin Global

LinkedIn|Caixin Global

Facebook|Caixin Media


  点击“阅读原文”,去主站看看吧


CaixinGlobal财新国际
Read Caixin to know China better!
 最新文章