China's youth labor market is defined by a persistent paradox: higher education has expanded to historic levels, yet youth unemployment remains structurally high. The growing popularity of internet labels such as “lying flat” and, more recently, “rat people,” should not be understood as passing online trends or individual attitudinal shifts. They reflect a widening mismatch between educational expansion, labor market demand, and social expectations—one that has left many educated young people with increasingly limited viable pathways.
According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the national surveyedunemployment rate stood at 5.1% in December 2025. For those aged 16–24, excluding students, the rate reached 16.5%. Following a statistical revision in early 2024, youth unemployment rose to a revised peak of 18.9% in August before gradually declining from September onward, reflecting typical post-graduation seasonal patterns. Even so, the overall level remains higher than in previous years, indicating a problem that extends beyond short-term economic fluctuations. （Related： Defense Budget Gridlock in Taipei, Amphibious Drills in Japan ｜ Latest ）
Mass Higher Education and the Limits of Job Absorption
At the core of this challenge lies the rapid expansion of higher education. Over the past two decades, China has transitioned into a mass higher-education system. University enrollment rates rose from 17% in 2003 to 60.2% in 2023. During the same period, the number of university graduates increased sharply, from 7.53 million in 2018 to 11.58 million in 2023—an average annual increase of roughly four million. The labor market's capacity to absorb this influx, however, has not expanded at a comparable pace.
