Young Chinese do not want to work in factories

They prefer small jobs to boring and poorly paid employment in the manufacturing industry, the beating heart of the national economic miracle. More than 80% of companies in the sector have labour SHORTAGE problems. They are turning to the use of robots or transferring operations abroad to keep production going.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - They do not want to work in factories. They find it boring, dangerous because of the constant accidents, exhausting because of the long hours and above all badly paid. This is how young Chinese people respond to the question as to why they do not want to take their parents' place in the beating heart of China's economic miracle: the manufacturing industry.

The idiosyncrasy for blue-collar work in China is comparable to that of their European counterparts who refuse to accept hard work, such as that in the countryside. The new Chinese generation prefers to do odd jobs such as home deliveries, or they enrol in post-graduate courses dreaming of a 'cushy' government job.

This phenomenon is a problem for a country in economic crisis, the worst since the opening-up and reform policies. Extensive lockdowns for Covid-19, a depressed property market and the regulatory clampdown imposed by Xi Jinping on private industries, especially the hi-tech sector that most attract young people, have depressed GDP growth, which this year is at its lowest level since 1990 - if we exclude 2020, the year of the pandemic outbreak.

According to a study reported by Reuters, more than 80% of Chinese factories have labour problems. The Ministry of Education predicts that there will be a shortage of 30 million workers in the industries by 2025. Impressive numbers, taking into account that youth unemployment (16-24 years old) in the country today is around 18%.

Instead of working on the assembly line, the new recruits choose to stay at home, adding to the cost of the family budget. They are the 'lying-flat': young people who do the bare minimum in their jobs or studies, tired of the gruelling working hours, rising consumer costs and prohibitive housing prices. A passive attitude, seen by the authorities as a threat to the grand plans of 'national renewal' desired by Xi.

Tough times lie ahead for Chinese manufacturing companies. Government figures explain that within five years China will lose 35 million adults of working age, a decline that has not stopped since 2012. Domestic companies are concerned about the lack of generational change, both in terms of physical strength and the need for staff with more advanced technological skills.

Replacing retirees with robots and automation is considered uneconomical at a time of global recession. Relying on minimal wage increases to entice young people to take up factory work, have resulkted in many entrepreneurs in China - mainly foreigners - moving production to Vietnam, Thailand and India.

• china
• beijing
• youth
• factories
• work
• economy
• unemployment
• pensioners