Special Topic: Finding and Keeping Jobs in China

Job losses, salary freezes and graduate unemployment reaching seven figures -- the chastening effects of the global financial crisis. Over the last few months, the news in China’s job market has not made pleasant reading. If you have read my columns over the past ten weeks or so, you will have a clear picture of some of the major issues affecting China and its working population. However, even if you haven’t, I would guess that you would still have a pretty good idea about the rather gloomy situation. After all, it is not as if the financial crisis has not made news around the world.

Writing about human resources and the decline of the job market here in China during the past few months has been a depressing experience. It is not the nature of the problems that are too disturbing. In truth, loss of manufacturing jobs and a surplus of graduating university students are problems that can be seen in several major nations across the globe. Rather, it is the sheer scale of things here in China that has – on a regular basis – caused me to pause and take a deep breath as I try to fully comprehend the situation. With the world’s largest population, anything to do with work and employment here in the Middle Kingdom is unlikely to be on a small scale. That is to be expected. However, some of the numbers that Xinhua and China Daily cast around on a regular basis are barely fathomable. For example, the number of unemployed migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta (over 20 million) is more than the entire population of a vast amount of countries. It has been enough for me to look back with growing affection at the days of escalating employee turnover and China’s vicious talent war.

Photo: ColorLoose

Because of some of the overpowering numbers I encountered, I have been desperate to see an upturn in the economy and a brightening in the employment situation – the thought of 2 or 3 million fresh graduates out of work seems just too much to contemplate. It was, therefore, with great interest that I picked up a copy of China Daily bearing the headline, “Job growth strong sign of recovery”. With such confidence and positivity, I could not help but read on. Perhaps I would at last see some numbers that would make me smile rather than thank my lucky stars that I have somehow managed to find gainful employment. And, yes they were there, as clear as day, some positive numbers. Wang Linyan (The author of the article) was not talking in terms of tens of millions, but the numbers he detailed were definitely a start.

Wang quoted Premier Wen Jiabao who, at an executive meeting of the State Council, announced that 3.65 million urban Chinese residents found jobs in the first four months of 2009. According to Yang Weiguo - an associate professor of labor and human resources at the Renmin University of China - this boost was caused by some of the short-term measures taken by the government to ease the pressure on the country’s strained workforce. These included expanding domestic consumption, reducing tax burdens and encouraging graduates and migrant workers to take up self-employment. (For more information on some of these please check-out my article on graduate unemployment)

Sifting through the very same edition of the paper, I was surprised to find another nugget of good news as the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing released figures that revealed the nation’s economy is once again beginning to show signs of growth. The Purchasing Manager’s Index – a composite index used to indicate the level of manufacturing within the country – posted its third result in succession above 50. 53.1 to be exact. For those of us without advanced financial qualifications, the Index’s benchmark for economic expansion is 50. Below that, the economy is seen as contracting. In the latter part of 2008 and the early stages of 2009, the number had dropped below 45 and, at one point, was even in the high 30s. Therefore, these statistics point to solid, albeit unspectacular manufacturing performance in Q2 of 2009.

All these positive numbers certainly perked me up, so much so that I might even consider subscribing to China Daily if it continues to provide me with such good news. However, any optimism that the numbers create needs to be tempered with a little context. The 3.65 million urban jobs take in the whole country, which makes the number large, but far from earth-shattering. It would not cover the class of 2009 graduating from China’s universities or even 20% of the migrant workers who have lost their jobs in the Pearl River Delta. And, even though the PMI remains above 50, it is still well below pre-crisis levels – in 2006 and 2007 it was regularly above the 55 mark. But, it is a start.

Special Topic: Finding and Keeping Jobs in China

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