David Huang
“I’m almost 50. Am I going to look for jobs? No. There’s nothing for me out there. Finding jobs is too difficult,” Huang said. “Just look at how bad business is in those clothing retail shops in Guangzhou, you will get an idea how bad wholesaling and manufacturing garments is at the moment.”
On Zhihu, China’s version of the American question and answer website Quora, a discussion thread called
“How does a 40-year-old unemployed individual live on?” has clocked up more than 27 million views since 2019. In post after post, users share their frustration about trying to find work in their middle age.
And the situation only appears to have deteriorated with the pandemic.
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Tang Ying, 36, has found herself in the grips of insomnia and depression lately while grappling with the possibility of losing her job as a front desk administrative employee at a small tech firm in Guangzhou.
The past year has been a nightmare for Tang: her marriage fell apart and she contracted tuberculosis, an infectious disease affecting lungs.
When she went back to her job after recovering, the company gave her more work than usual, something she perceived to mean they wanted her to quit.
Many places only want people under 35. I have been battling with this thought a lot
Tang Ying
Yet, she has stayed on, concerned her lack of a university degree will mean she is unable to find work elsewhere.
“I’m scared. I don’t have confidence in sending out resumes,” said Tang, who worked at a call centre as a customer service operator previously.
“Many places only want people under 35. I have been battling with this thought a lot. All I think of is trying to hold on to this job.”
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A graduate school degree and work experience for some of the nation’s biggest tech companies does not necessarily give you an edge either, said
38-year-old Jim Yang, whose position as a former salesman at telecoms giant Huawei was ended by the firm three years ago.
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As a consequence, nearly half of the job applicants above 35 fell from middle or high-income groups to low income because their earnings had dropped, according to the study.
More than 70 per cent said they face pressure meeting mortgage payments and other costs, such as children’s education and medical bills. The study also estimated a third of them could only survive at current spending levels for 3 months.
Age discrimination is illegal in many countries, but not in China, which is facing a rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce after more than three decades of the one-child policy.
For some Chinese workers, celebrating their 35th birthday is starting to feel like a curse. Amid the frenzied competition for jobs stirred up by the economic impact of the pandemic, a growing number of employment ads are imposing age limits of 35 – leaving many Chinese nearing middle age feeling...
sg.style.yahoo.com