The Employment Outlook of Urban Youth under Consumption Downgrading

Abstract

This paper uses participant observation and semi-structured interviews to examine the presentation of urban youth’s employment outlook in the context of consumer downgrading, and explores the shaping factors behind it to provide rational explanations. Through the classification and analysis of employment attitudes and expectations, it is found that the employment expectations of urban youths tend to be de-employerization and career digitization, lifelong learning and compound talents, embracing new industries and engaging in new occupations as amphibious youths and slash-and-burn youths, and presenting attitudes of pursuing the fulfillment of self-worth, and attaching equal importance to responsibilities and ideals. The emergence of employment attitudes and expectations is related to the acceleration of modernity and pressurized survival, as well as the awakening of self-consciousness among urban youth. In this regard, society at large should respect and adjust to their new employment mentality and expectations, so that they can firmly hold on to their ideals, which is also of great significance in promoting the in-depth optimization of the human resources structure.