China’s live-streamers ready for their close-up as official jobs list updated
China has said that skilled professionals will account for no less than 30 per cent of the working population by 2025.
Recognising emerging professions can “enhance the sense of belonging felt by people in these positions in the workplace” and allow them to “enjoy related national policy benefits”, an unnamed human resources official was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency in May.
According to a report by the China Netcasting Services Association, a unit under the National Radio and Television Administration, by the end of 2023 around 15 million people were working in live-streaming in some capacity.
Live-streaming is a profession which carries appeal for military veterans, migrant workers and students struggling to find employment, according to a February research report by Renmin University of China.
China’s jobless rate for the 16-24 age group, excluding students, dipped to 13.2 per cent in June from May’s 14.2 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
However, the job market remains a source of pressure in some parts of China.
The employment sub-index of the official purchasing managers’ index edged up to 48.3 in July from 48.1 in June, but has now been in contraction for 18 consecutive months – indicative of persistent challenges for the overall labour market in the manufacturing sector, per a Wednesday research note by Nomura.