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Airlines, unions
pin hopes for
more payroll
cash on politics
Page 12
MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2020
ZHENGZHOU, CHINA (AFP) - Biol-
ogy student Ma Jingjing wandered
the hall of a job fair in central China
among other young Chinese hoping
to ƒind work in an economy crushed
by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ma, 26, is one of almost nine mil-
lion people graduating and entering
the job market this year at a time of
great uncertainty, an issue that has
the ruling Communist Party worried
to the point that President Xi Jinping
has made it a priority.
Theworld’s second-largest econo-
mymayhave reboundedsharply from
a historic virus-induced contraction,
but its young graduate jobless rate in
June was more than three times that
for urban unemployment.
Ma was among hundreds of
young faces streaming in and out
of the job fair on a recent weekend
in Zhengzhou, where employers in
industries ranging from real estate
to manufacturing were recruiting.
Like many others, the aspiring
teacher is “at a loss” and wondering
if she should settle for any job or hold
off work for further education.
“I have applied to seven or eight
private schools, but only one has
calledme back for an interview,” she
told AFP at the fair.
“I’ve studied for so many years
and don’t want my family to pay for
further training,” she said.
“I’m especially worried about
my ƒinances.”
Aware of the risk that mass unem-
ployment can spark political unrest
- jeopardising the party’s pledge of
prosperity in return for unquestioned
political power - the government has
been making efforts to boost gradu-
ate employment via state-owned
enterprises (SOEs).
But poorer opportunities this year
are pushing some into further stud-
ies, less ideal jobs or other options.
Although China’s economy ap-
peared tomake a strong comeback in
the second quarter - growing 3.2 per
cent on-year - analysts caution the
reboundmay be overestimated, with
a gap re-emerging between national
ƒigures and higher-frequency data.
Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics
told AFP there is no doubt China
is recovering, but the magnitude
would determine if growth is “strong
enough to re-absorb some of the la-
bourmarket problems” that emerged
earlier this year, such as layoffs.
A gap in growth of a few per-
centage points could lead to a dif-
ference of millions of jobs created,
he added.
Although China’s urban unem-
ployment rate slipped to 5.7 per
cent in June, 19.3 per cent of new
graduates remained jobless, UOB
economists said in a report, add-
ing the labour market “continued
to face challenges”.
Top-level economic data has not
necessarily meant better hiring on
the ground.
A 27-year-old surnamed Kang,
who graduated in 2017, is back in
the market after his contract in
the communications industry in
Beijing ended.
China’s young jobseekers struggle despite
economic recovery
He decided to return to Zheng-
zhou, but has only received around
ƒive callbacks after sending more
than 30 resumes to ƒirms - and is still
looking for a job.
“The virus outbreak has limited
travel and a lot of job fairs have been
postponed or cancelled,” he said.
“I’m extremely anxious.”
Lu Yifan, 25, said the pandemic
had caused many overseas Chinese
students like him to return home
sooner than planned - adding to the
ƒlood of jobseekers.
And Guangdong graduate Zhao
Jingying, 22, told AFP: “For us (this
year), getting a single job offer is
a feat.”
Another, Beijing-based Huo
Ruixi, 23, left university in July but is
planning a second round of further
education after an unsuccessful ƒive-
month job search.
The crisis is also causing prob-
lems for employers.
Manager at DeyouReal EstateYang
Changwei told AFP at the Zhengzhou
fair it was getting harder to hire sales
staff based on commission.
“It feels like jobseekers’ mindsets
have shifted,” he said.
“In sales, you may or may not
make deals but with other jobs there
can be more stability in income.
Because of the epidemic, ƒinancial
pressures are larger as well.”
Ofƒicials are ramping up efforts
to boost graduate employment, and
Premier Li Keqiang announced over
ninemillion new roles will be created
this year.
A State Council guideline in
March said smaller ƒirms that recruit
graduates with contracts longer
than a year will be given a subsidy,
while SOEs will “continuously ex-
pand” the scale of graduate-hiring
this year and next.
Henan authorities, for one, said at
least half the recruitment positions
at SOEs within the province should
be reserved for this year’s gradu-
ates, while Nanjing city in Jiangsu
province set aside CNY1 billion
(US143 million) to provide 100,000
internships for struggling graduates,
Xinhua news agency reported.
Montreal’s tourist heart a ghost town in pandemic summer
A jobseeker looks at an information lea let during a career fair in Zhengzhou, China's Henan province.
PHOTO: AFP
MONTREAL (AFP) - Stripped of the
crowds of visitors that usually ƒlock
to its sights, from the Grand Prix to
its renowned festivals, Montreal is
trying to reinvent itself during the
coronavirus pandemic and salvage
what is left of its summer.
The city is spending heavily and
sponsoring dozens of artistic shows
in an effort to lure visitors. But de-
spite its best efforts, the damage is
all too obvious.
“Look at the terraces here, they
are all empty, it’s incredible,” said
Sam Namour, owner of an Inuit art
gallery in Old Montreal, pointing
to the deserted cafes on Jacques
Cartier Square.
Over the past 40 years, Namour
has greeted thousands of visitors
to his gallery, including former
presidents Bill Clinton of the United
States (US) and Jacques Chirac of
France. But on this hot summer’s
day, not a single person has en-
tered his establishment since he
opened up three hours earlier.
Around 11 million tourists vis-
it the city in a normal year, 80
per cent of them from outside
Quebec province, spending some
CND4 billion (USD3 billion), said
Yves Lalumiere, head of the city’s
tourism board.
With half of Canada’s 9,000
coronavirus deaths, Montreal and
its surroundings have been hard
hit by the pandemic. The city
has had to cancel major cultural
events that in the past drew in
hundreds of thousands of visi-
tors, including its world-renowned
jazz festival.
“A million tourists, tops” are
expected this year, said Lalumiere,
saying 90 per cent of the revenue
from that sector is at risk.
Visitors have to quarantine for 14
days when they arrive in Canada, so
tourists coming fromabroad, mostly
from France and the US, are rare
this year.
“Old Montreal is dead this year,”
said Namour.
“In summer, Jacques Cartier
Square is always full, you can’t see
the ground because there are so
many people there,” said Nadia Bilo-
deau, who runs an Italian restaurant
next door to Namour’s gallery.
This year, though, it is “like a little
ghost town,” she said, looking out at
the restaurant’s empty terrace.
The business owners are just
about making ends meet with sup-
port from the state.
Even visitors from other parts
of Quebec province are few and
far between.
“The Quebecois are scared
of coming to Montreal,” said Mi-
chel Archambault, professor of
urban studies and tourism at
Quebec University.
William Foster Friesen was the
rare tourist in sight on a recent day,
passing through for a few hours on
his way from a trip to the Gaspesie
region to his home of Toronto.
“I’ve never seen Montreal so
empty,” he said.
The same scenes are being
played out in the city centre, whose
400,000 workers have been largely
absent since mid-March, most of
them now working from home.
The city’s beating heart endures,
however, though energy has shifted
to its outlying residential areas.