The Hexun website published an article that discussed a recent job market report that the China Institute for Employment Research had published. Based on the report, the following four groups of people will face challenges in 2016:
1) Industries that are facing excessive cuts in industrial capacity. This includes, but is not limited to the steel, coal mining, and cement industries. The article said that in the next 2 to 3 years, one million workers from the steel and coal mine industries will lose their jobs.
2) College Graduates. According to the article, there will be a record high of 7.65 million students graduating from college in 2016, an increase of 160,000 from 2015. Estimates suggest that the number of college graduates competing in the job market may be close to 10 million, particularly if it includes 300,000 Haigui (Chinese people who have returned to mainland China after having studied abroad) as well as those who graduated in prior years but have been unable to find employment. The article noted that, if the college graduates are not willing to take a low paying blue collar job, many of them will continue struggling to find a job. However if they are willing to relocate to the central part of China more opportunities will be available for the college graduates in those regions.
3) Peasant Workers. Because of the cutbacks in the manufacturing industry on the east coast and the contraction in construction industry, many peasant workers will face unemployment. However since there will be job increase in transportation and the trucking industry, some of the peasant workers may see opportunities in those fields.
4) Retail Store Workers. In the fourth quarter of 2015, online and e-commerce grew 52 percent compared to the same period in 2014. It has affected the profitability in the retail market. As more and more stores are closing, the workers in the retail industry will suffer as well.
The article concluded that there are still many unknown situations in the 2016 job market but as manufacturing and heavy industry will take cuts, the service industry will continue to see growth.
Source: Hexun, Feb 5, 2016
http://m.hexun.com/opinion/2016-02-05/182194858.html