For the first time in its modern history, China is sending a record 12.7 million graduates into a labor market that is shrinking at the very moment it is being remade by artificial intelligence. The entry-level positions that once served as the first rung of a career ladder — the patient, formative roles through which young workers learned and rose — are being automated away before this generation can reach them. What unfolds now is not merely an employment crisis but a test of whether a society can absorb technological transformation without abandoning the aspirations of its youngest members.
China's 12.7M New Graduates Face Perfect Storm: Weak Job Market Meets AI Disruption
12.7 million graduates face unemployment or underemployment as AI automation eliminates entry-level job opportunities.