Chinese short video stream applications have grown to be an unexpected place for blue-collar job seekers to search.
According to RestofWorld, a recent survey reveals that Kuaishou Technology, the second-largest short video platform in the nation, has found that short video applications quickly overtake other job search methods for China's 400 million blue-collar employees.
In January, Kuaishou, a video app similar to TikTok, popular among blue-collar workers, launched Kwai Recruitment, a specific section for recruitment live streams. By the second quarter of 2022, Kuaishou had 250 million monthly active users. Jobs for delivery drivers, package handlers, rabbit farm laborers, and babysitters are advertised on its job channels by recruitment agents who have transitioned to live stream.
According to a survey released this week, blue-collar workers make up about 70% of all employees in the nation's industrial and service sectors, with the majority of them making between 5,000 to 8,000 yuan per month.
How China's Workers Find Jobs on Short Stream Video Apps
According to South China Morning Post, short videos have quickly surpassed traditional recruitment websites and apps to take second place behind "interpersonal introductions," which are preferred by more than two-thirds of Chinese blue-collar employees, or 67.6 percent.
Traditionally, hiring for factories and farms is done by recruitment agencies through offline job fairs, job websites, or posts on WeChat. However, now agents claim that connecting with unskilled labor via live streaming is more affordable.
One of China's popular short video apps, Kuaishou, has about 250 million blue-collar workers as active monthly users. In one case, a popular Kuaishou influencer, Liu Chao, helped 14,000 workers find jobs by promoting recruitment information over two years.
According to official statistics, China has almost 200 million workers who either have flexible work schedules or don't have long-term employment contracts. Additionally, the nation has close to 300 million migratory workers, who are individuals who accept jobs away from their hometowns.
The report also emphasizes China's aging crisis, with more than half of the blue-collar employees polled being older than 40, which is higher than the average age of 38.8 years for the overall workforce. The research also noted that Chinese millennials are progressively displacing elder labor.
Why Are Short Stream Video Apps Trending in China?
According to Insider Intelligence, short-form video apps, which enable users to generate content in 15- and 60-second bursts, entered China in early 2017 and quickly established themselves as viable entertainment options.
Livestreaming first gained traction in China as a kind of entertainment. Still, in recent years, it has entered every aspect of daily life, from shopping to education to matchmaking to, most recently, job recruitment.
Now, live streaming has become popular in the blue-collar labor market, where companies must hire many individuals with low qualifications or prior experience, have been adopted by a variety of short video and job-hunting apps.
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