China’s new labor challenge: Too many workers, not enough jobs

The sun is only just visible above the rooftops, but hundreds of job seekers are already getting restless in the 80-degree-and-rising morning. Then there’s the economic heat resulting from China’s post-covid slowdown.

When a minivan that pulls up to the curb on a commercial street in Majuqiao, on the outskirts of Beijing, dozens charge at it. “What’s the gig?” they shout at the man inside, shoving forward in hopes of a payday and escape from the summer sun.

The selection process looks more like an argument than a job interview. The crowd and the driver shout back and forth for a hot minute before a handful of younger men climb in. The burly driver blocks the rejected from joining them, slams the door and speeds off.

The frantic scene — repeated again and again every morning here at an intersection where day laborers hope to pick up shifts — is testament to the bleak job prospects in the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s economy is having more difficulty emerging from three years of zero-covid lockdowns than expected, with latest data showing growth remains sluggish.

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