China’s Youth Face Bleak Job Market as COVID-19 Slows Economy

China’s Youth Face Bleak Job Market as COVID-19 Slows Economy
Commuters walk through a subway station during the morning rush hour in the central business district in Beijing on Aug. 9, 2022. Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo
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BEIJING—Liu Qian, job-hunting with a new master’s degree, said two employers interviewed her and then said the positions had been eliminated. Others asked her to take lower pay.

She is one of 11 million new graduates desperate for work in a bleak job market as anti-virus controls force factories, restaurants, and other employers to close. The survivors are cutting jobs and wages.