Chinese graduates are heading to the factory floor. During the first quarter of 2024, the number of people under 25 applying for blue-collar jobs rose by 165 per cent compared with the same period in 2019.

This is partly a response to increased demand for workers in the manufacturing and service sectors driven by the dramatic growth of ecommerce in China. There are now eight times more jobs in distribution than there were in 2019.

But what about white collar jobs – the ones these young people might have aspired to when they embarked on their expensive degrees? And what do their parents think about this new employment trend?

Irish Times correspondent Denis Staunton is based in Beijing and he talks to Bernice Harrison about changes in the Chinese workforce that are causing ripples throughout the entire society.

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