Woman counting a pile of coins.
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Young people may feel the same as everyone else: The economy is not doing well.
Christopher Bedol
Longzhou Economic News
“No choice” but to reduce spending?
So why are young people in China becoming more and more cautious about consumption?
“Young people probably feel the same way as everyone else: the economy is not doing well,” said Christopher Beddo, deputy director of China research at Longtime News.
Total resident RMB deposits in the first quarter of 2024 A recent report from the People’s Bank of China showed an annual increase of 11.8%.
Although China’s first-quarter GDP increased by 5.3% year-on-year, exceeding expectations, forecasts still show that the economy will continue to slow down. The International Monetary Fund predicts economic growth of 4.5% in 2025.
Experts told CNBC that exacerbating the difficulties is a tight labor market, which is particularly detrimental to young people.
“People refusing to spend money is a real phenomenon here,” said Jia Miao, an assistant professor at NYU Shanghai. “For some young people, it’s just because they can’t find a job, or they just find it more difficult to increase their income. They have no choice but to spend less,” she added.
The unemployment rate for youth aged 16 to 24 is 14.2% in May, Much higher than the national average of 5%. Although there are no official statistics on the monthly salary of undergraduates, a survey found that the average monthly salary of those with a bachelor’s degree Revenue in 2023 is RMB 6,050 (USD 832)1% Increased compared with the same period last yearAccording to reports compiled by domestic MyCOS research and published in local media.
“The confidence and animal spirits of young people are gone. It will take years or more before the market booms before they feel comfortable engaging in revenge spending,” Wren said.
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