China’s internet platforms proved a safety net for young workers amid record unemployment and a Big Tech crackdown
- Big Tech firms from Tencent to ByteDance helped create millions of vloggers, content writers and e-commerce sellers amid a slow pandemic-stricken economy
- Most new platform economy jobs are performed by those under 35, as China’s youth unemployment has climbed to record highs
Chinese digital platforms proved to be a vital safety net throughout the Covid-19 pandemic for their youngest workers, according to a report by the state-backed China Academy of Labour and Social Security (CALSS), as youth unemployment was climbing to its highest levels on record and Beijing was waging a wide-ranging industry crackdown.
More than half – 56.8 per cent – of those jobs were performed by those under 35 years old, according to the report, showing how younger Chinese Millennials and Gen Z workers have become a major force in the platform economy as employment opportunities have dimmed in other sectors amid a slow economic recovery since China lifted its stringent Covid-related restrictions this year.
More than 60 per cent of the surveyed part-time workers on digital platforms expressed interest in switching to full-time roles in those professions. Another 30 per cent said they were willing to turn those gigs into lifelong careers because they value the “flexibility and potential for self-actualisation” that such jobs offered, according to the report.
The CALSS findings align with recent findings from the China Information Economics Society (CIES), a think tank.
These companies have played a pivotal role in stabilising the job market, the CIES concluded.
