China’s youth unemployment is so high that Gen Zers are paying to pretend to work in faux offices across the country. As 14.5% of young professionals are still unable to find a gig, they are convening at hotspots run by “Pretend to Work Company.” https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/china-youth-unemployment-bad-gen-155718392.html
Facing a tough job market, young Chinese adults are paying for the privilege of pretending to work in fake offices, seeking structure and purpose. These spaces offer a semblance of routine and social interaction, helping individuals cope with unemployment and even deceive their families. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/chinas-job-crisis-spurs-bizarre-trend-young-chinese-pay-companies-just-to-pretend-they-have-a-job-heres-why-china-unemployement-news/articleshow/123244626.cms
Here’s the bbc news piece about it pic.twitter.com/C4DFaAalf5
— TRUEDYOR.eth (@TRUEDYOR) August 19, 2025
These firms, often unregistered, provide shared office spaces for a daily fee. Unemployed Chinese youth are renting these spaces to create the illusion of having a job, according to South China Morning Post. https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/found-a-job-chinas-jobless-turn-to-pretend-work-to-appear-employed-on-social-media-9123382
While the cost might not sound like much for international readers, the nation’s average non-private sector annual salary is just shy of $16,000 so the $1,820 annual price to pretend to work Monday through Friday adds up. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/china-youth-unemployment-bad-gen-155718392.html
The setups include desks, computers, snacks, and even pretend interviews. Some use them to apply for jobs. Some just sit. Some take selfies to convince their parents they have found a proper job. The illusion is the product.
The government stopped publishing youth unemployment statistics in 2023 after the rate hit 46.5%. That silence was not reform. The problem did not vanish. It went underground. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/china-youth-unemployment-bad-gen-155718392.html
The offices are spreading across Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Kunming. These are major cities. This is scale. This is normalization. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/chinas-job-crisis-spurs-bizarre-trend-young-chinese-pay-companies-just-to-pretend-they-have-a-job-heres-why-china-unemployement-news/articleshow/123244626.cms
The mismatch between degrees and jobs is not new. But now it is monetized. Pay to pretend. Pay to cope. Pay to stay visible. The market does not offer work. It offers theater. https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/found-a-job-chinas-jobless-turn-to-pretend-work-to-appear-employed-on-social-media-9123382
The cost is not just financial. It is psychological. Routine without purpose. Community without employment. Structure built on fiction. The jobless pay to simulate dignity.
The system does not collapse. It mutates. Into rented desks. Into fake meetings. Into a generation that buys the illusion of relevance. Because the alternative is silence. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/chinas-job-crisis-spurs-bizarre-trend-young-chinese-pay-companies-just-to-pretend-they-have-a-job-heres-why-china-unemployement-news/articleshow/123244626.cms
