She has a master’s degree, but is unemployed and lives on discount coupons. In China, there are many others like her

Beyond the venting of unhappiness online, rising youth unemployment could pose a risk to China’s social and political stability. 

Observers note that at 21.3 per cent, China’s youth unemployment rate is just below the 23.4 per cent in the Arab region in 2010.

High youth unemployment was “one of the factors contributing to the Arab Spring”, noted Zhang, the professor from CUHK, referring to the series of uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa in 2010 and 2011. 

There are also “strong links” between youth unemployment and social issues like drug abuse and crime. “It goes beyond the young people themselves, and is very costly to society,” he said.

There are also ramifications on China’s economy. 

There is a “scarring effect” from being out of employment for an extended spell. “(Their) skills may be obsolete after a long period of unemployment… it will have a long-lasting effect for the future,” Zhang said.  

“Their income will not be able to recover to the normal level, even with 10 or 15 years of work experience.” 

The youth account for about 20 per cent of consumption in China, said Louise Loo, China economist with Oxford Economics. “A big (source) of consumption is out of the workforce,” she said. “So that does affect the extent to which consumption can be a driver for growth in the long term.” 

The authorities have rolled out various measures to boost youth employment. Anhui and Guizhou provinces have asked state-owned enterprises to ensure at least half of their new hires are fresh graduates, news outlet South China Morning Post reported last month.

In Hunan province, graduate recruitment has been added to the annual performance appraisals for executives at state companies, it reported.

Henan province came up with a 100-day plan from May to August to “dynamically clear” youth unemployment. Measures included promoting jobs in public institutions and state-owned enterprises, second degrees, and grassroots or rural employment projects, Reuters reported.