Big Problems in Chinese Popular Culture: Unemployment in China - Essay Example

Big Problems in Chinese Popular Culture: Unemployment in China According to McEachern (2009), “the world’s richest country, United s has $ 246 trillion trade deficit with China at present”(McEachern, p.275). Those who analyse these statistics may presume that everything is in good shape in China because of the huge economic progress happening there. It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction at times; the above quote is absolutely true when one would analyse the unemployment problems in China. It is a fact that China is attracting foreign direct investments more than any other country in the world and as a result of that, more factories and employment opportunities are created internally. Moreover, bulk production tactics helped China to provide employment to thousands of Chinese people. Another interesting factor is that the one child policy implemented by China helped them to control the population growth up to certain extent. China’s economy is the largest in Asia it may become the largest in the world in the near future itself. Albert Keidel (2008) has pointed out that “China’s economy will surpass that of the United States by 2035 and be twice its size by mid- century” (Keidel). Amidst all these positives, it is a fact that unemployment problems in China is growing at a steady rate and the government failed to implement any effective measures to counter it. Unemployment rate in China is around 11% at present which is creating serious problems with access to housing, education, and basic social services. This paper analyses questions such as; How college graduates and peasant workers deal with unemployment in China; What advantages and disadvantages does each group hold and How do crime and corruption, along with social stability and mobility play a role in the PRC today etc. How college graduates and peasant workers deal with unemployment in China? The following statistics provide a brief idea about the unemployment problems in China. Year Unemployment rate Rank Percent Change Date of Information 2004 10.10 % 93   2003 est. 2005 9.80 % 88 -2.97 % 2004 est. 2006 9.00 % 92 -8.16 % 2005 est. 2007 4.20 % 50 -53.33 % 2005 2008 4.00 % 49 -4.76 % 2007 est. 2009 4.00 % 45 0.00 % 2008 est. 2010 4.30 % 38 7.50 % September 2009 est. (China Unemployment Rate) Even though the unemployment rates are coming down, it should be noted that more than 230 million people in China are still jobless. In other words, statistics are not providing the actual depth of the unemployment problems in China. “What confronts the young generation of today is structural unemployment, mostly resulting from a mismatch between the conditions and nature of jobs and the skills and expectations of the young generation” (Litao & Yanjie, p.i). The expectations of the current youths in China with respect to employment are high. Unlike the old generation, they are not ready to work in hard working labor sectors such as the construction fields or manufacturing sectors. They are looking for white collar jobs and it is difficult for the Chinese government to fulfill the expectations of the youths. “In recent years, more than 30% of college graduates fail to secure a job upon graduation each year”(Litao & Yanjie, p.i). “As many as 750,000 college graduates could not find a job upon graduation; the number soared to 1.2 million in 2005, and nearly 2 million in 2009, or 32% of the 6.1 million graduates (Litao & Yanjie, p.2). In other words, the actual unemployment rates in China could be more than the declared ones. Because of the shortage of white collar jobs, college graduates forced to accept jobs designed for those who completed high school education. Finding a job is a difficult problem for the college graduates since they are forced to compete with around 6 million people of similar caliber. On the other hand, peasant workers are not facing many difficulties in finding a job because of the huge manufacturing activities going on inside China as part of the produce more and reduce price strategies of the government. “In contrast to college graduates, second generation migrant workers, who often have lower expectations than college graduates, have better employment opportunities. In fact, there has been a shortage of rural migrant workers since 2004” (Litao & Yanjie, p.2-3). What advantages and disadvantages does each group hold? The problem of educated unemployment has its root in the earlier higher education reforms, particularly the government’s decision to expand tertiary enrollment by nearly 50% in 1999. The number of new intake of college students on average grew 22% annually between 1998 and 2006. The pace of expansion slowed down thereafter. Nevertheless, the labor market could not absorb the rapidly growing number of college graduates, despite double-digit economic growth in much of the 2000s (Litao & Yanjie, p.i). Structural employment problems are the major disadvantage for the college graduates. In other words, college graduates in China are struggling to find suitable jobs for them. They were forced to work in unfamiliar or hard working labor sectors because of the fewer opportunities in white collar employment sector. At the same time, it is a blessing that college graduates are able to find some kind of jobs in China. It should be noted that in other countries, college graduates are ready to work in any departments; but they are struggling to find opportunities. Under such circumstances, the conditions of the Chinese graduates are comparatively better. The major advantage of the peasant workers is the enormous employment opportunities in China. No peasant workers are struggling to find employment opportunities in China because of the bulk production activities going on there. Even ordinary people with average or less skills can also find enough opportunities in China. In fact some manufacturing industries in China are facing labor shortage at present which is a blessing. Shortage of labor may increases the labor cost and thereby the living standards of the lower class in China. Gao (2005) has mentioned that “the industry sector has relieved from the complete dominance of the government and lot of small scale industries under private ownership has been developed as part of the reformation process” (Gao). In other words, small scale industries are growing considerably under private sector and therefore peasant workers and college graduates can expect more opportunities in future. How do crime and corruption, along with social stability and mobility play a role China today? “Unlike in the past, attending university is no longer a guaranteed route to upward social mobility” (Litao & Yanjie, p.ii).College graduates who failed to find suitable jobs are shifting their focus to antisocial activities such as crime and corruption. “Though the Chinese government has more than 1,200 laws, rules, and directives against corruption, implementation is spotty and ineffective. Roughly 10 percent of government spending, contracts, and transactions is estimated to be used as kickbacks and bribes, or simply stolen”(Pei). Many external observers have the false belief that China is a country which is free of corruption because of the strong communist administration which is intolerant to corruption and crime. However, in reality, corruption cases in China are strong enough to compete with that in any other country in the world. Foreign investors have big concerns about the bribery and corruption scandals in China and they are currently thinking twice or thrice before establishing their business units in China. Even a low level government official can make huge amount of money as bribes because of the political and bureaucratic systems in China. Socialism (Equal status to all people with respect to all segments of human life) is the declared aim of communist administration in China. In order to attain true socialism, China has implemented many policies to reduce the gap between the rich and poor. However, it reality, the gap is still widening instead of getting reduced. Dr. Xu Cheng Gang, a lecturer at the London School of Economics, has pointed out that, “with China in the midst of economic upheaval, the government continues to allocate resources, placing officials at the center of the market and enabling them to channel profits into their own pockets” (Yao). Chinese political leadership is not much worried about the corrupt and social inequalities in China. They are too much worried about increasing the production activities and welcoming the foreign direct investments. Political leadership in China is keeping a blind eye towards the corruption issue as they are well aware of the fact that controlling of corruption is impossible without political reforms which the government does not like. Political reforms mean providing more freedom and liberties to the people which is against the interests of any communist administration in the world. It should be noted that no civilised community would like to lead a life as the Chinese do. Chinese people are not getting any freedom to express their views and opinions and they are incapable of spreading their religion or earning some private properties. All their hard works are utilised for the interests of the country rather than the interests of the individual. Criminal activities are also growing in China like all the other countries in the world. Women suicide rates in China is more compared to other countries in the world. Unlike women in other countries, Chinese women forced to undertake hard labour. It should be noted that majority of the Chinese women were forced to work in agricultural lands. Farming is no more the duty of males in China. Chinese women were exploited sexually also by the males. In fact the divorce rates in China are comparatively more than that in other parts of the world. Chinese women are not getting any recognition in the society as in the case of the males. They were forced to work like slaves and therefore suicide rates among Chinese women are comparatively higher. In short, Chinese society is male dominant one even though communism speaks volumes about topics such as socialism, equality, etc. To conclude, college graduates in China are struggling to find suitable jobs whereas the peasant workers are not facing such problems. Structural employment problems are the major worrying factor for the youths. Chinese youths are not getting white collar jobs and they were forced to work in underprivileged employment sector. On the other hand, because of the bulk production activities going on in China, peasant workers are getting enough job opportunities. At the same time, crime and corruption cases are increasing day by day despite the tight rule of communist administration. Political reforms are necessary to stop corruption in China, but the administration is not ready to do so because of their concerns about the consequences of such reforms. Works Cited “China Unemployment Rate”. 2010. Web. 05 December 2011. Gao,Tao. "Globalization and China: Impacts on the Economy and Peoples Quality of Life". Apr. 4, 2003. Web. 05 December 2011. Keidel, Alfred. “China’s Economic Rise—Fact and Fiction”. 2008. Web. 05 December 2011. Litao ZHAO & Yanjie HUANG. “Unemployment Problem Of China’s Youth”. 2010. Web. 05 December 2011. McEachern, William A. “ECON Macro 2”. Publisher: South-Western College Pub; 002 edition (September 11, 2009) Pei, Minxin. “Corruption Threatens China’s Future.” 2007. Web. 05 December 2011. Read More