Life is a relentless hustle on the outskirts of Beijing, especially at the Majuqiao Day Labor Market. Here, a desperate chorus of “You’ve got work?” or “How much are you paying?” echoes daily, a stark counterpoint to official pronouncements of a “stabilized” job market. While China’s economy officially grew by 5% last year with unemployment at 5.1%, the reality on the ground feels far grimmer. "It’s hard to earn money this year and manual work is not easy. I swing big hammers and carry industrial waste,” laments 39-year-old Wang Wei, a demolition contractor, who embodies the struggle.
Among the ranks of those doing the grueling manual labor is 27-year-old Haoyu. He sits on a bench in a riverside park, the setting sun painting the river in hues of orange and purple. A university graduate, Haoyu had once envisioned a white-collar career. Instead, he now wields hammers and hauls debris, a demolition worker like Wang Wei, his dreams stripped away as thoroughly as the interiors of a renovated mall.
A shadow falls over him. It’s Ruoxio, his girlfriend of four years, two cafe lattes in hand. “Wait?” she asks, her voice a gentle question mark in the fading light. They sip their coffees, the comfortable silence of shared history between them. Ruoxio works in a factory, assembling electronic components, her hands moving with precision, building a future that feels increasingly uncertain for them both. Marriage has been a frequent topic, a comforting dream in their shared future.
As dusk deepened and the park grew quiet, Ruoxio’s voice, hesitant and small, broke the stillness. “Um, listen.”
“What?” Haoyu asked, a flicker of unease stirring within him.
Then he saw them – large, silent tears tracing paths down Ruoxio’s cheeks. She looked at him, her eyes brimming with a heartbreaking sorrow. “I think it’s better if we don’t see each other anymore.”
Haoyu’s world tilted. “Why?” he managed, the word barely a whisper.
Ruoxio’s voice was a choked whisper, laden with despair. “I wonder what kind of future we have.” Her words hung in the cooling air, a devastating reflection of the anxieties that gripped so many in their generation, a future stripped bare, much like the buildings Haoyu helped to demolish.
All names of people and organizations appearing in this story are pseudonyms
China says its unemployment rate is “stable,” but job seekers remain gloomy
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