Amid pressure from the United States in technology and tariffs, as well as geopolitical implications, the job markets in multiple key industries in China, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing, continue to shrink. From biopharmaceuticals to technology, finance, manufacturing, and even education and employment, each sector is facing unprecedented survival pressure. Many interviewees have stated that under the backdrop of increased tariffs imposed by the United States and ongoing sanctions, the economic environment in China continues to deteriorate, forcing companies and workers to reposition themselves.
In the first half of this year, many core industries in China experienced waves of layoffs, with significant contractions across various fields. The pharmaceutical industry, once seen as a “golden rice bowl,” has also faced tremendous upheaval with salary cuts, layoffs, and transitions becoming focal points within the industry.
Miss Wang, a human resources manager at a medical equipment company in Wuhan, China, which is a subsidiary of a French company, told a local news outlet, “The group procurement has caused drug prices to plummet, with the price of a cardiac stent dropping from the original 13,000 yuan to 700 yuan, severely squeezing business profits, with sales positions being the first to be impacted.”
She continued, “Some colleagues are forced to switch to selling box lunches, while others are trying to transition into ‘academic representatives,’ establishing connections with doctors through professional knowledge. The era of relying on red envelopes for relationships ended years ago. Hospitals like Tongji Hospital now crack down on kickbacks, and we even have to make appointments in advance to see doctors. The salary structure has fundamentally changed, with base salary highly linked to performance; many people’s annual salaries have dropped from 200,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan. As a foreign-invested enterprise, we have already laid off about 70% of our sales staff.”
Li Lin (alias), who has worked for 15 years at a multinational pharmaceutical company, admitted, “Our entire department was cut and disbanded, without even the opportunity to transfer departments. Since two years ago, layoffs have occurred at a rate of 10% to 15% annually. Our department originally had 35 people, but now only 15 remain.”
Amid this wave of corporate downsizing, the financial industry has also struggled to escape unscathed. According to reports, in the first half of 2025, 120 securities companies in China collectively laid off 7,330 employees, a decrease of 2.2%.
Mr. Jin, a department manager at a securities firm in Beijing, told a local news outlet, “The hardest-hit area for layoffs is traditional brokerage positions, with 2,640 fewer people from January to June, a 9.1% decrease. Head brokerages such as Guotai Junan Securities, Guoxin Securities, and Founder Securities have all undergone varying degrees of workforce adjustments. Even the state-owned enterprise CITIC Securities has laid off many employees, with many staff who entered through relationships either being laid off or facing pay cuts.”
The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics announced on July 15th that the country’s GDP grew by 5.3% in the first half of the year. Officials claim that the “national economy has withstood pressure and risen to challenges, with the economy operating steadily overall and showing signs of improvement.”
However, Mr. Hong Jie, an enterprise owner in Shenzhen who previously engaged in material processing, expressed to reporters, “Since the beginning of the year, foreign trade orders have generally decreased by 80%, rendering factories unable to operate. Many of my friends have already chosen to close down their factories and sell their companies. This is a situation unseen since the reform and opening up era, and I believe that the Chinese manufacturing industry may never return to its former state.”
Hong further pointed out that just in Guangdong province alone, over a million unemployed migrant workers were recorded in the first half of the year. He said, “I heard that many factories in places like Suzhou, Kunshan, Wuxi, and Changzhou in Jiangsu have also closed down, with employees being forced to take unpaid leave. With over twelve million recent graduates, this year’s employment pressure is unprecedentedly huge.”
The severe disconnect between education and employment has made the situation even more challenging for university graduates. Xu Hong (alias), a former sociology lecturer at Tsinghua University in Beijing, told reporters, “The overall employment rate for 2025 graduates is expected to be only 55.5%, with ordinary undergraduate graduates even lower at 43.9%, and the rate of employment matching their major is less than 43%. Compared to last year, this data has dropped by 10% to 20%, signaling a very severe situation.”
A recent graduate from Wuhan, named Pan, lamented on social media, “My parents spent 200,000 yuan to send me to university, but now my monthly salary is only 5,000 yuan, and I don’t know when I’ll break even. Several of my classmates who studied design can only collaborate on project-based work; their average monthly income is less than 3,000 yuan, barely enough to cover their living expenses.”
Xu Hong pointed out, “The current education content is seriously misaligned with the job market. University education overly emphasizes theory but neglects practical skills and industry integration, causing many graduates to fall into the awkward situation of being ‘overqualified yet underemployed,’ making it even more difficult for them to integrate into society. China’s education issues are as severe as its healthcare issues; as long as you are politically correct, no one cares about the other aspects.”
Xue Wanpeng, a senior human resources observer who once operated a headhunting company, noted, “Even graduates with three years of experience may see their monthly salary drop to 2,500 to 3,000 yuan. Many young people find it hard to accept this psychological gap and would rather return home to rely on their parents. Many professionals describe the first half of this year as the ‘most difficult year.’ Currently, no industry can guarantee long-term stability, and the relationship between companies and employees has become more short-term, flexible, and even fragile. Experienced individuals demand high salaries, but employers, in order to control costs, prefer to hire cheap new graduates, leading to a severe mismatch on both ends.”
Reflecting on this job downturn, Xue Wanpeng sighed, “Even with continuous improvement in their skills, only a very small number of people can weather through these cycles and have the privilege of choice. More individuals will face profound frustration and a sense of helplessness.”
In light of these challenges, an academic named Hu Peng (alias), who graduated from Chengdu University, analyzed the current economic structure from a technical perspective. He told reporters, “This is not simply a regular economic cycle of layoffs but rather a restructuring of talent due to a new round of technological revolution. Technologies like AI and big data are rapidly replacing traditional middle-level positions. In the next three years, a large number of standardized positions will be completely phased out.”
He further pointed out that the shift in geopolitical dynamics is also a key variable, saying, “The relationship between China and the United States has entered a structural confrontation. China’s support for Russia in technology and information, purchase of Russian and Iranian oil, has made the EU feel uneasy. At the same time, China’s export of electric vehicles and low-cost goods to Europe has also sparked trade frictions between China and the EU.”
It is reported that European Commission President von der Leyen and EU Council President Costa will meet with Xi Jinping in Beijing on July 24th. As the global economic landscape continues to be turbulent, Western distrust towards the Chinese regime is escalating, and the Chinese system is facing a profound and systemic employment crisis.