“I’ve changed jobs five times in the past few months,” says Joey Zhang, a 23-year-old graduate, with a bittersweet smile as she walks through a local market in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Instead of her dream career, she now sells snow pea sprouts to make ends meet.
In today’s China, youth unemployment is no longer a warning sign it’s a sobering reality. One in five Chinese youth aged 16 to 24 is jobless. With a surge in college graduates and shrinking job opportunities, the market is simply unable to absorb this generation.
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A Lost Dream: Gen Z Rewrites Success in China
China’s Gen Z grew up believing in the “Chinese Dream”: work hard, and you’ll succeed. But many now face a very different reality.
According to Prof. Xiang Biao, an anthropologist at Oxford University:
“The old dream is collapsing. Young people are rethinking what success truly means.”
At job fairs across Beijing, most opportunities fall under low-skill or entry-level positions: insurance agents, sales assistants, or marketing roles. Meanwhile, graduates with bachelor’s and even master’s degrees struggle to find work related to their fields.
High Expectations, Low Returns
Joey Zhang, the first in her family to attend university, now faces intense pressure. “The jobs I find don’t pay well, and they have no future. Most people would rather stay home,” she admits.
Some like her pivot to alternative roles: selling drinks, volunteering at kindergartens, or working as park guides. These aren’t dream jobs, but they are survival strategies — ways to gain experience while waiting for better opportunities.
The Rise of “Full-Time Children” and “Lay Flatters”
Facing brutal competition, some young Chinese return home. A new phenomenon is emerging “full-time children” youth who don’t work but earn minimal income by helping around the house or sharing their daily routines on social media.
Others, known as “lay flatters” (tang ping), have opted out of the modern rat race altogether, rejecting the relentless pursuit of success.
A study titled “Changes in Employment Psychology of Chinese University Students During COVID” (PubMed, 2023) reports that post-lockdown, Chinese students are increasingly anxious and prefer job security gravitating toward state-owned companies and government roles.
From Competition to Contemplation: A New Dream
Yet not all hope is lost. This generation is redefining what success looks like. Unlike older generations focused solely on wealth or status, Gen Z is now searching for meaning, personal growth, and balance.
Joey Zhang reflects:
“We’re lucky in a way — we still have time to figure out what we really want. It’s not just about money. It’s about building a life that feels meaningful to us.”
Prof. Xiang calls this shift “rewriting the Chinese Dream.” He adds:
“Young people realize life isn’t entirely in their control. They are now reconsidering what collective living, success models, and personal identity truly mean.”
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