'Rotten-tail kids': China's rising youth unemployment breeds new working class

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BEIJING (Reuters) - Rising unemployment in China is pushing millions of college graduates into a tough bargain, with some forced to accept low-paying work or even subsist on their parents' pensions, a plight that has created a new working class of "rotten-tail kids".

The phrase has become a social media buzzword this year, drawing parallels to the catchword "rotten-tail buildings" for the tens of millions of unfinished homes that have plagued China's economy since 2021.

A record number of college graduates this year are hunting for jobs in a labour market depressed by COVID-19-induced disruptions as well as regulatory crack-downs on the country's finance, tech and education sectors.

The jobless rate for the roughly 100 million Chinese youth aged 16-24 crept above 20% for the first time in April last year. When it hit an all-time high of 21.3% in June 2023, officials abruptly suspended the data series to reassess how numbers were compiled.

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Say it. Wimp.

Why? Like what do you think I stand to gain from posting something because you told me to? Lol

You know exactly why I want you to say it.

Okay so am I right to assume you’re just looking for a reason to justify your dismissive smug attitude? Because that’s genuinely what I think you’re doing.

That is the pot calling the kettle black. ;)

I just don’t believe you can type it. Any excuse not to answer the question, that was part of the original joke! Pretty spot on so far.

I just don’t believe you can type it.

What does that mean? Do I not have fingers? Omg am I an AI stuck in a simulation and my code literally prevents me from typing out some magic spell for no discernible reason?! 😲

Or maybe you started this thread by taking swings at windmills and as a consequence I just don’t take you seriously enough to feel the need to prove anything to you. I’m amazed you haven’t considered that.

But hey I get it. That tinfoil hat sure is shiny and you wear it well. It would be such a shame if you decided to take it off.

Now you’re just rambling.

Tiananmen Square massacre really happened

Goodbye.