In late April, Zuo Xiaoyong posted a shepherd recruitment ad for his ranch, seeking individuals interested in grazing sheep in the remote and rugged grasslands south of Mongolia. Little did he expect that this post would become the hottest topic on social media that day, highlighting the increasingly challenging employment market in China.
To his astonishment, over 700 people applied for the two positions, including white-collar workers from big cities like Shanghai and Chongqing, factory workers from various regions across China, and even college graduates.
On Weibo, the topic garnered 59 million views and generated 21,000 different discussion threads within just a few hours.
“I never thought it would become so popular,” Zuo Xiaoyong said. He mentioned that one-tenth of the applicants were recent college graduates, while others carried debt or were drained from monotonous industrial work, or exhausted from office politics.
“It seems ordinary people are indeed finding it quite tough to secure employment.”
Despite the official unemployment rate hovering around a slightly high 5%, the issue of underemployment and hidden unemployment in China is becoming increasingly severe. Both blue-collar and white-collar workers are complaining about the “996” culture of working six days a week from 9 am to 9 pm.
Analysts predict that the labor market will further deteriorate in the coming months. With manufacturing factory profits declining due to overcapacity, urban living costs rising, and the accelerated replacement of grassroots positions by artificial intelligence (AI), a record 12.7 million university graduates are expected to enter the job market this summer, making the employment situation even more challenging.
Lynn Song, Chief China Economist at ING, stated that the effects elicited by Zuo Xiaoyong’s advertisement “reflect the current highly competitive labor market with often meager returns.”
“The appeal of urban jobs is declining and becoming scarcer,” Song said.
For some time, China’s economic growth of around 5% has heavily relied on booming exports. Manufacturers sacrificed profits and engaged in price wars to compete for global market share, directly leading to more severe salary cuts and overtime pressure for domestic workers.
Amid a slowdown in the macroeconomy, traditional avenues like civil service exams and the gig economy of ride-hailing and food delivery services have reached saturation, forcing many young people to either become “full-time sons and daughters” or seek to “escape the rat race.”
21-year-old James Guo applied for the shepherd job. Currently working in a factory producing shipping containers, the job has left him physically and mentally drained.
“You can’t imagine what it’s like to work over 13 hours a day, screwing bolts until your hands swell with blisters, and not even having time to go to the bathroom,” he said, “The workload is too much, I can’t take it anymore.”
Zuo Xiaoyong is seeking shepherds tasked with herding 3,000 sheep over a 2,000-hectare (4,942-acre) ranch during the summer and undertaking intensive indoor feeding and cleaning duties when temperatures may drop below -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) in the harsh winter.
Each shepherd will receive a monthly salary of 8,000 Chinese yuan (approximately $1,178) along with accommodation and meals.
Shaun Rein, Managing Director of China Market Research Group, noted that even master’s graduates from top universities in Shanghai are offered similar starting salaries, but most of their income goes toward renting micro-apartments and covering other basic expenses.
28-year-old Ms. Wu, an e-commerce white-collar worker, showed interest in the shepherd job even though she earns 10,000 yuan per month.
“I want to escape city life and avoid dealing with various difficult people,” Wu said, “I can enjoy a peaceful and secluded life away from the hustle and bustle.”
Zuo Xiaoyong emphasized that the salary he offers matches the hardships required.
“Although the pay is good, whether you can endure the long term and survive the harsh winter is crucial,” Zuo Xiaoyong said, “This isn’t a vacation.”
Zuo Xiaoyong mentioned that half of the applicants were born in the ’90s, a demographic caught in what Chinese laborers refer to as the “curse of being 35”. With recent waves of layoffs in high-paying sectors like the internet and real estate, companies are focusing on “optimizing cost”, leading most employers, including the public sector, to overlook job seekers over the age of 35.
Christian Yao, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Victoria University of Wellington, stated, “We are witnessing the ‘curse of being 35’ evolving from a tech industry meme into a broader economic reality.”
In the end, Zuo Xiaoyong hired four shepherds (two couples), all born in the ’80s, who had prior experience working on farms. Although he retained a list of over 40 other couples, he mentioned that single individuals or young urbanites need not apply for these roles.
“In our region, you might not see another person for an entire year,” Zuo Xiaoyong said, “I’m not sure if someone can endure such loneliness.”