Chinese youngsters once envisioned a future of wealth and success, but increasing job scarcity and stagnating wages threaten these dreams.
**The Elusive Chinese Dream: Promises of Prosperity Fade for Young Workers**
**The Elusive Chinese Dream: Promises of Prosperity Fade for Young Workers**
The aspirations of China's youth are dampened as slow growth and social mobility challenges arise.
Since the economic reforms of the 1980s, China has experienced a remarkable journey, lifting over 800 million citizens out of poverty and nurturing a burgeoning middle class that now stands at approximately 400 million. A mass migration from rural villages to urban centers became the hallmark of this transformation, with countless individuals from humble beginnings achieving a college education for the first time. However, as China's economy decelerates, the once-promised avenues for social mobility have started to close, particularly for young people from less privileged backgrounds.
Boris Gao embodies the frustration felt by many. With his parents' jobs at state-owned enterprises evaporating, they transitioned into precarious roles — his father as a taxi driver and his mother a homemaker. This shift strained their financial resources and led to significant sacrifices, such as withdrawing services that affected Gao’s ability to keep up with schoolwork. Despite remarkable determination, including securing a college degree in 2016 and pursuing further education in Hong Kong, the job market has been unforgiving.
Since 2024, the obstacles have piled up. Companies have demanded unpaid internships from Gao, while others have labeled him a liability based on his educational background. In a particularly disheartening encounter, an interviewer told him, "Your family has low social status," disqualifying him from consideration. He articulated the sentiment that for some employers, resilience and tenacity signal inadequacy, leaving him to reflect on a harsh reality: the belief that hard work directly correlates with success is rapidly dissipating.
As the chance of attaining the Chinese Dream seems to slip from the grasp of its youth, the question remains: what lies ahead for the next generation in a system that once championed prosperity through diligence and education?
