Delayed Employment

As the job market is becoming more competitive every year, some new university graduates are opting for “delayed employment” (man jiuye or yanchi jiuye in Chinese). The term refers to college graduates who are in no rush to find full-time paid work or study, but instead go on short-term courses, volunteer as teachers, work with their parents or prepare to start their own businesses. According to the Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, the number of graduates who don’t look for full-time work immediately after graduation has increased from 95,000 to 130,000.　

Some online commentators suggested that young people born in the 1990s or later have more options to do work they’re truly interested in, making them more picky. Commentators at CCTV.com noted that delaying employment could help students plan better, and that they were taking a more sensible and focused approach to their own careers. China News Service added that it could help them learn about the world, since students often know more about theory than practice. 　

But others noted that the kids were just avoiding competition, and that some who aren’t facing serious economic pressure are simply staying at home and living off their parents. Parents should take this kind of negative attitude seriously, they argued.