China Facing Massive Unemployment Crisis

As China struggles to shrug of the impact of the coronavirus, the number of unemployed in the country is swelling. Illustration: Brian Wang

SCMP: Coronavirus: China faces historic test as pandemic stokes fears of looming unemployment crisis

* For the first time in decades, China’s labour market is under pressure on multiple fronts as the economy struggles to recover from the coronavirus
* Communist Party leaders fret that swelling unemployment could develop into social unrest, threatening its grip on power

This is the first in a series of six stories exploring the causes and consequences of the domestic unemployment crisis China may face following the coronavirus pandemic. This story examines the scope of the nation’s looming jobless problem and the challenge it poses to the ruling Communist Party.

Years of social progress in China are at risk of being undone as the country grapples with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, a black swan event that has lashed the world’s second biggest economy and driven unemployment to historic highs.

Over the past few years, China’s labour market stability has been underpinned by the rise in service sector jobs, allowing newly laid-off factory workers to take up employment as delivery drivers or store clerks.

But the coronavirus pandemic has broken this virtuous cycle, fanning the government’s worst fears about massive unemployment and the potential for ensuing social unrest that could undermine its iron-grip on power.

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WNU Editor: Global trade that China's economy is dependent on has collapsed .... Coronavirus: evidence of demand shock wave to China’s economy piles up, as South Korean exports collapse (SCMP). And when it does come back, most countries are not only going to have restrictions on what can be imported, but will be more focused on decoupling their supply chains away from China and bringing them back to their own countries. To put it bluntly. For China's exporters, the good times are over for a very long time. And as for China's growing unemployment crisis. Beijing needs to revitalize its domestic economy to create new jobs, and they are trying their best to do it now .... No Second Wave In China As Economy Gains More Traction (Forbes).