CNN BUSINESS REPORTS 80-M CHINA JOB LOSS

The 6.8% contraction of China’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of this year is the worst economic performance of Beijing in 30 years, with the dark lining in the horizon dampening investment and limiting employment.

In their piece on CNN Business, Laura He and Nectar Gan wrote on May 8 that 80-million Chinese may already be jobless, and 9-million new entrants into the job market may be in for a difficult time.

He and Gan said the harsh reality has not been captured by state statistics, which they say is “notoriously opaque” and the official unemployment rate — which only tracks jobless numbers in urban areas — has barely moved beyond 4% to just over 5% for many years.

Reality bites deep into the skin of Wang, one of those perpetually seeking a job in China. The 26-year old tech worker spent the last year jumping from one startup to another but was laid off again in January, this time from a Beijing-based internet company, he never expected things to become as difficult as they are but noted that last year was “already felt like living in a hell mode. But 2020 is even worse. The coronavirus is like a head-on blow." #coronavirusimpact #COVID19