Young Chinese are ‘retiring’ to rural areas as China’s unemployment woes mount

Tired of China’s employment situation, young people on the mainland are retreating to the countryside.

China’s Gen Z and millennials are increasingly documenting their rural daily “retirement” lives on social media. These self-identified “retirees,” who often state in their profiles that they were born in the 90s or 00s, post their travels online when they take extended career breaks or are unemployed.

Last year, a 22-year-old self-proclaimed retiree nicknamed Wenji Dada took up residence in a bamboo hut on the edge of a hill in China’s mountainous Guizhou province. Wenji, who previously held various jobs in auto repair, construction and manufacturing, told local media that he was tired of dealing with machinery every day and quit to return to his hometown. He tried to find a job there but was not satisfied with the options.

“As time passes, I begin to think about the meaning of life. Life is not only about the prosperity of the city. The tranquility of the countryside is also a kind of beauty,” he wrote in his Douin profile. Translated by CNBC. Douyin is a sister app to TikTok owned by ByteDance and tailored for the Chinese market.

Since moving to the mountains, Wenji has been uploading videos to Douin’s account, showing how he cooks, grows vegetables and maintains a mountaintop hut.

Hong Kong Polytechnic University Chair Professor Chung Chi Nien said that it is very difficult for young people to find jobs because China’s economy is struggling.

With a record 11.8 million college graduates entering the labor market this year, intensifying competition has led to a “devaluation” of college degrees, the professor explained. For people with less credentials and experience, this further reduces their odds of getting hired.

China’s youth unemployment rate hit a new record of 18.8% in August, the highest since the new record-keeping system began in December. It increased by 17.1% in July. The latest data comes amid disappointing Chinese economic signs as the world’s second-largest economy continues to struggle with weak domestic demand and a downturn in the housing sector.

“When you put these factors together, it’s not surprising that young people are ‘retreating’ or ‘retiring’ to rural areas because it’s become more challenging to find a job, especially good jobs in top cities,” Chung told CNBC.

Popular retreat destinations include Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan — provinces with a quarter of the cost of living in Shanghai.

Over the past three years, high-value-added services sectors that absorb many fresh graduates have shrunk sharply, particularly in real estate and finance, said Dan Wang, Hong Seng Bank’s China chief economist. Although low-paying jobs such as delivery or ride hailing are available in cities, educated youth do not want them and have to sit on the sidelines, Wang said.

Jobs are also available in manufacturing, but young people are also not seeking these roles, said Qiu Jin, associate professor of economics at the London School of Economics.

“They sit at home with their parents [and] Wait for a good job,” she said.

But China’s young “retirees” are pushing back against criticism that they are too picky or have given up.

“It’s not called sleeping in, it’s called early preparation for retirement so you can enjoy your old age in the future,” Wenzi, 22, wrote in a post uploaded in April.

Throughout his videos, he mentions how other villagers criticize his lifestyle and compare him to others who are employed his age.

“Who ordered the young men to go out and work?” Venji cursed.

Hong Seng Bank’s China Wang said that while such accusations are unfair, they can be understood in the context of Chinese social culture.

“Chinese people are frustrated because whoever gets a higher education thinks they have to use it and work hard,” the economist said, adding that education is usually the biggest investment for a family, aside from housing.

Wang notes that many of these young people have some income, are turning to e-commerce, or are trying to become social media influencers. Rural areas are a good setting to run these businesses as the natural backdrop and laid-back lifestyle can attract viewers.

Other organizations have also recognized the unemployment trend and are actively catering to it, with increasing reports of “youth nursing homes” in both local reports and social media.

These youth nursing homes brand themselves as facilities where people can check in and “sleep in” whenever they want, and often exclude guests over 45, according to a young nursing home entrepreneur.

While experts told CNBC it’s a marketing gimmick, the popularity still reflects a sense of distress among Gen Z and millennials, as well as a desire for a slower lifestyle.

“Young people experiencing high stress or depression are looking for places to reflect and effectively reset their lives, thus increasing the need for ‘junior nursing homes,'” said Jia Miao, assistant professor at NYU Shanghai. She added that it is positive that the market is diversifying to meet the needs of these young people who are looking for a place to breathe and recover.

But how long will this wave of “retirements” and “nursing home” trips last?

Rural China continues to be a good respite and refuge for urban unemployment, and these young Chinese may not stay in the countryside for long. Rural China doesn’t offer the modern, middle-class lifestyle young Chinese want, let alone high-quality healthcare and education, Wang said.

“This kind of reverse migration is not even likely to be a long-term trend. It is very temporary… the ultimate goal of those children is to go back to the city in the long run,” she said.