China Job Crisis Explodes Millions Of Students Queue At Factories Sleep Outside Stations

There are way too many summer workers this year. The pay has been pushed down to just 8 or 9 yuan per unit. It's become as cheap as rotten cabbage. Life is long and you still have decades of work ahead of you. Summer workers this year are everywhere. There are too many of them and they're cheap. In the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, many have already been left stranded. The same thing happened last year. A lot of students came here, paid agency fees, and then spent a week waiting without ever getting placed in a factory. Many students ran out of money and ended up sleeping on the streets, too afraid to tell their parents. Right now, the only value you have in the eyes of recruiters is as a source of cash. If they were really high-paying jobs, do you think they would be available for you? A job paying 15 or 16 yuan per unit gets cut down by agencies to 10 or 9 yuan. Even regular workers wouldn't take those jobs. Yet you're traveling thousands of miles just to be exploited. Just go home. Don't come here anymore. This July, as the summer holiday season began, the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions saw a large influx of student workers. Thousands of students seeking to earn tuition money and ease their family's financial burdens have been making their ways into major industrial hubs, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai region. There are so many students on the train heading out for jobs. Don't they follow the news? People are getting stranded everywhere right now. There are so many people in this hotel. Guys, do you think I'll still get placed today? Or am I going to end up stranded here? However, amid the current economic slowdown and shrinking corporate orders, this year's summer job market can no longer be described as merely oversaturated. It has effectively collapsed. The factory only has a dozen or so openings, but look how many people showed up today. These students were already waiting outside the factory gate at around 6am. Everyone, just stay home and enjoy your summer break. Don't come out here and get scammed. You will end up spending money on travel costs and other expenses for nothing. This is like thousands of people fighting over scraps. Those who can't find work will still starve, and those who do find work will be miserable. People in the back, move forward a little and keep the road clear. The seeing of college students competing for summer workers for jobs is unbelievable. A factory may only need a few dozen people, but the agencies will bring in hundreds of applicants. Even Lenovo doesn't need workers anymore. A lot of people have already left, especially student workers. Many have been cleared out. Many recruiters have been posting on social media saying that wages have dropped to just 8 or 10 yuan an hour, and telling people not to come out looking for temporary jobs anymore. The pay has already dropped to 8 yuan. Summer job wages are down to 8 yuan now. There is really no point in coming out anymore, unless you're trying to earn money specifically to pay your own tuition. If you can accept an 8 yuan per hour summer job, then come out. What's the point of coming out for 10 yuan an hour? And that job doesn't even include meals. A factory may need 30 workers, but 300 people will show up. Anyone coming out at this point is basically just cannon fodder. If you can't find a job, you'll be stuck outside in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. It's really miserable. These kids don't dare tell their families. They can't even afford an apartment for 30 yuan a night, so they end up sleeping in parks. Seriously, don't encourage them to come out anymore. It's heartbreaking. Take a look, everyone. It's not that I don't want you to come out. This is simply what the job market in Wuhan is like right now. Every day, it's overcrowded. Whenever a factory says it's hiring summer workers, it's completely packed. Even after you get there, you might not even pass the interview. You might not even be able to get inside the factory. These summer jobs only pay a little over 100 yuan a day, don't include meals, and require 12-hour shifts. What's the point of going out for a job like that? With that time, you have better off staying home with your parents, getting a driver's license, or learning useful skills. Don't come out here just to suffer. Some people ask me why I don't recommend going out for summer jobs right now. Let me show you what the situation is like outside. Look at this. The streets are packed with people. There's simply nowhere to place all of them. Look at the people sitting by the roadside, and those dragging their suitcases around. So many summer workers have already come out, and there aren't enough jobs to arrange for them. And this is not even counting those who are only 16 or 17 years old. Some parents say that if their children can't handle the hardships of studying, they should experience the hardships of society instead and go out to work. But the problem is that many factories right now don't even want to hire summer workers. Coming out here could just mean getting scammed. Market surveys show that many manufacturing and service sector jobs that traditionally hired large numbers of summer workers have sharply reduced recruitment or stopped hiring altogether this year due to weaker demand. The huge influx of young workers, combined with a sharp decline in available positions, has created a severe imbalance, leaving the labor market with a significant oversupply of workers. This pay is 14 yuan an hour. A factory only needs 20 workers, but 200 to 300 people show up for interviews. That's the reality of the summer job market in July. And this isn't just about 14 yuan an hour. In previous years, around mid-July, a factory offering 10 yuan an hour and hiring only 10 people could still attract several hundred applicants. Do you understand how extreme the competition is? A lot of people online ask, why would anyone take a job for 10 yuan an hour? Even a dog wouldn't do it. But the reality is people are taking them. They'll work for 10 yuan, 9 yuan, even 8 yuan an hour. That's how tough things are. So my advice is, students who are on summer break in July should not come out just to join the crowd. You'll only end up getting your money scammed away and left crying in desperation. Students, don't come out. Seriously, don't come out. There's no way everyone can get placed. It's not easy for anyone. Come take a look. These are the princesses and princes who usually stay at home. Now, under the blazing summer sun, they're lining up here. These kids were once pampered by their parents at home. Now, for just the daily wage of a few dozen yuan, they have to stand in the scorching heat, waiting in line and putting up with recruiters and hiring agents judging them and looking down on them. Today's summer jobs are paying 11 yuan an hour. One factory needs 60 people, but 200 to 300 people showed up. So students, I think you should stay home and focus on your studies instead of coming out. Look at it this way. Tightening screws in a factory for 11 yuan an hour means working for a full hour just to buy a cup of milk tea while exhausting yourself. These student workers aren't wanted by factories, so they come to me to do manual labor. I pay them 120 yuan a day. They say it's much better than factory wages, and they work very hard. Across multiple industrial areas, job seekers are now being left stranded as many students struggle to find work in time, leaving them under heavy financial pressure. Industry experts say the severe conditions in this year's summer job market highlight how fluctuations in manufacturing supply chains are affecting temporary employment. They add that greater attention is needed to improve protections for young people relying on flexible work arrangements. Stranded, right now, outside major factories, there are hundreds of people waiting for openings every day. This is no longer a situation where workers choose factories. Factories are choosing workers. If you're still planning to come out in July when your summer break starts, wages will already have dropped to single digits. So why come? Are you coming to Guangdong just to be treated like lambs waiting to be slaughtered? Kunshan's viral job seeker words. It's another day packed with people. There are simply too many student workers. Summer workers have flooded the market. Students, I'm at Kunshan South Railway Station right now. I've already told everyone in my previous videos that Jiangsu is now facing a situation where many workers are being stranded. After factories finish their workforce checks on July 1st, there will be only about two days left for recruitment. If you can't make it to Kunshan by July 2nd, don't come anymore. Understand? Let me show you the real situation here at Kunshan South Station. Look behind me. There are so many students here today. They've basically all been stranded. If you can avoid coming out, don't come. Where in Wuhan can even arrange summer jobs right now? A factory says it needs 50 people, but at the site, there are at least 300 to 400 applicants. I told you there was no shortage of summer workers, but you didn't believe me. Now that you have been turned away, are you satisfied? There's simply nowhere to place you if you come out. Look behind me and across from me. People are everywhere. I just spoke with two women over there. They're from Henan as well. I asked what their situation was, and they said many factories out here are no longer hiring summer workers. The pay is 13 yuan an hour, but they don't want summer workers anymore. Anyone under 22 is not being accepted. What has made the situation even more troubling is that unscrupulous recruiters have exploited information gaps by spreading fake high-paying job advertisements across online platforms and campus chat groups. Like bait, these false promises have lured wave after wave of students from remote areas and central and western provinces into traps. When these students leave home with hopes of finding work and arrive in unfamiliar cities, they face not only the anxiety of being unable to secure a job, but also the series of hidden fees and deceptive charges. People are stranded now. There are simply no factories hiring. The agencies collect the money and then disappear. Some people have been here for three days and haven't gotten a single interview. Students who haven't left yet don't come. The money you'd bring would be gone and you'll have to ask your parents for money just to buy a ticket home. It's over 40 degrees right now. Look at these kids. They're just sitting there, waiting and waiting. You can see it for yourself. For summer jobs, some agencies take money and then don't arrange any work at all. They just run away. Please have some conscience and do the right thing. Do not come to Guangdong looking for jobs. Guangdong is full of recruitment scammers. Being lured by fake recruitment ads is only the beginning of the ordeal for many summer workers. Those who are supposedly placed in jobs often find themselves falling into another seemingly endless scam. Before they officially start working, some unscrupulous agencies demand additional fees under various pretexts, including transportation costs, medical examination fees, betting fees, uniform fees, placement fees, and training fees. Some agencies are solely focused on collecting these high charges and never actually arrange jobs for the students afterward. They didn't even hire you and now they're charging you 80 yuan for the paperwork? And this is a 200 yuan blanket, right? A 280 yuan blanket. That's just too much. These people are ruthless. They're all taking advantage of you. What is even more shocking is that one agency allegedly required a male applicant to undergo an ultrasound examination. This highlights one of the core profit models used by unscrupulous labor brokers, making money from both sides. Even when they fail to find students any jobs, they can still profit by collecting fees under various pretexts. And when students finally enter factories, they're immediately confronted with intense working conditions they never experienced in school. Long hours of physical labor, constant supervision and criticism from managers, and harsh workspace environments all become even more difficult to endure. Those working in the service sector also face pressure from customers. These challenges are amplified by low wages, extended working hours, and the sweltering summer heat. Even more alarming is that the tentacles of this gray industry have quietly reached into places that should have been safe havens, schools. Some administrators at educational institutions and vocational schools have allegedly chosen to work with illegal labor agencies in exchange for financial incentives, sending their own students into exploitative labor arrangements. The following is a recording of an actual conversation inside a labor agency, revealing the harsh realities of an industry hidden from public view. You'll arrange 200 people today. How much are they paying per hour? How much can the student workers make? Student workers get 15 yuan an hour. 15 yuan an hour? Then why would they do it? What choice do they have? Are there even factories willing to take them? If a factory is willing to let them in and work, that's already good enough. They shouldn't be picky. Then how much do regular workers get at this factory? Regular workers get 25 yuan an hour. 25 yuan an hour? Yeah, so your student workers are only making 10 yuan an hour less. Making 10 yuan is actually considered low. Some people make 15 yuan, and from what we earn, we still have to give a cut to the schools. The schools take in under 3 or 4 yuan, even 4 or 5 yuan per hour. So how do you get these students? Aren't there plenty of students out there? From Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, right? Also Henan, Gansu. There are tons of students, plenty of them. Do you give kickbacks to the school principals? Of course we do. Come on, if we didn't give them a cut, would the students come? You know, we have to give the schools 4 or 5 yuan per hour. Then the schools tell the students they have to complete the full work period. If they don't finish the required period, they won't get their graduation certificates. Understand? When there's money to be made, everyone gets a share. Exactly. Brother, I see your car is brand new. Yeah, it's less than a month old. You bought a car in just one month? Honestly, taking a month to buy a car is already too slow. Normally, you can buy one in 15 days. This car, let me tell you, costs 500,000 yuan. A car in one month? And a house in one month too? Pretty much. For a house, it takes at least three months. In three months, buying a 2 million yuan house is no problem. That's pretty good. Brother, do you want to get into the labor recruitment business? I feel like I'd have a hard time getting past my conscience. Brother, people who want to make money have to be ruthless. If you can't do labor recruitment, you'll never make big money in your life. The conversation is deeply disturbing. A wage cap of up to 10 yuan per hour amounts to an enormous profit margin. These students who have already left their hometowns and are struggling to find work have become a source of easy income for these recruiters. Meanwhile, the educational and protective responsibilities that schools should uphold are abandoned in the face of hourly kickbacks worth a few yuan. Even more troubling, some schools and labor agencies allegedly work together to use graduation certificates as leverage, forcing students to remain on factory assembly lines. If students fail to complete the required work period, their diplomas are withheld, leaving them with no way out. I'm a college student, but I still can't find a job. Every day, I can eat two meals, and even those are the cheapest box meals. I split one meal into two. After all these years of studying and gaining knowledge, I never thought I'll end up unable to even support myself. After losing what little money they brought with them to these scams, many students are too ashamed or embarrassed to ask their parents for help. Some end up sleeping under bridges, at train stations, or on park benches. As factory doors close, countless students unable to find jobs and unemployed workers are turning to food delivery, courier services, and other forms of so-called flexible employment. However, this sector, once seen as a last resort for low-income workers, has now become severely overcrowded. The influx of new delivery riders has further diluted the already limited number of orders. Even experienced veteran riders are now struggling with fewer deliveries and sharply declining incomes. I just want to ask, how many summer workers out there have started delivering food? Otherwise, how could there be no orders during the rainy season? Where are the orders? Tell me, where did all my orders go? The decline of the real economy has pushed large numbers of people online in search of a job, fueling the unchecked growth and intense competition within the live streaming industry. Many of the streamers often referred to as online beggars received virtual gifts and donations from the very same delivery workers and factory assembly line workers who are also struggling at the bottom of the economy. They can't make money anymore, they can't earn a living in real life, so they've come online to beg for money instead. She's live streaming, and now men have started live streaming her. That's three already, right? Four, five? There are several more in front and several more behind. Whose money are they making? They're making money from delivery workers, factory workers, and people who have nothing better to do or are living on welfare. That's whose money they're making. This phenomenon, in which wealth circulates among those at the bottom of society and is even consumed by people struggling within the same group, is a dangerous sign of declining overall wealth creation capacity. From Kunshan to Changzhou, from Suzhou to Dongguan, cases of summer workers being deceived, exploited and stranded have repeatedly emerged. These students use their hard-earned money to enrich unscrupulous labor brokers operating at the edge of legality. The phrase, my youth is only worth nine yuan an hour, has become a despairing form of self-mockery, reflecting the helplessness felt by a younger generation facing social inequality and exploitation. The difficulties faced by summer workers are essentially the same as those encountered by workers more broadly. But these students often have even fewer legal protections. Because summer workers typically have a service relationship rather than a formal employment relationship with employers, they're often unable to sign standard labor contracts. In reality, many do not even receive written agreements. Combined with their lack of workplace experience, this leaves them with little effective protection when labor disputes arise. When they face wage deductions, delayed payments, unpaid wages, or even workplace injuries caused by inadequate training and safety measures, seeking compensation becomes extremely difficult and many cases end without resolution. Meanwhile, scams operated by unscrupulous labor brokers have persisted for years despite repeated crackdowns. Some online commentators have pointed out that these brokers often survive because of connections with powerful figures or influential networks, allowing them to operate with little concern for consequences. Ultimately, they argue that these tragedies are the result of deeper systemic problems under the Chinese Communist Party's rule.