This study aims to understand the prevalence and characteristics of individuals aged 16 to 35 who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) and the risk factors associated with being in NEET in China. The analysis uses the 2012 China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey to show that the NEET rate was 8 percent during the study period. Multilevel logistic regression indicates that women were more likely to be in NEET. Married women and female migrants had significantly higher risks of being in NEET, with migration having opposite effects for men and women. Education had protective effects against being in NEET, especially for women. Age had a nonlinear effect, with individuals aged 22 to 25 at the highest risk of being in NEET. I discuss implications for public policy and directions for future studies on NEET in China.
BaiLimin. 2006. Graduate unemployment: Dilemmas and challenges in China’s move to mass higher education. China Quarterly185:128–44.
2.
BeckerGary S.2009. Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
3.
BynnerJohnParsonsSamantha. 2002. Social exclusion and the transition from school to work: The case of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET). Journal of Vocational Behavior60 (2): 289–309.
4.
DasguptaSuktiMatsumotoMakikoXiaCuntao. 2015. Women in the labour market in China. ILO Asia-Pacific Working Paper Series, International Labour Organization, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Geneva.
5.
ElderSara. 2015. What does NEETs mean and why is the concept so easily misinterpreted?Geneva: International Labour Office.
6.
GendaYuji. 2005. The “NEET” problem in Japan. Social Science Japan: Newsletter of the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo32:3–5.
7.
HendersonJoanna L.HawkeLisa D.ChaimGloria. 2017. Not in employment, education or training: Mental health, substance use, and disengagement in a multi-sectoral sample of service-seeking Canadian youth. Children and Youth Services Review75:138–45.
8.
International Labour Organization. 2006. Global employment trends for youth 2006. Geneva: International Labor Office.
9.
International Labour Organization. 2012. The youth employment crisis: Time for action. Geneva: International Labor Office.
10.
International Labour Organization. 2015. Global employment trends for youth 2015. Geneva: International Labor Office.
11.
International Labour Organization. 2016a. Women at work: Trends 2016. Geneva: International Labor Office.
12.
International Labour Organization. 2016b. World employment and social outlook 2016: Trends for youth. Geneva: International Labor Office.
13.
International Labour Organization. 2017. Global employment trends for youth 2017: Paths to a better working future. Geneva: International Labor Office.
14.
KnightJohnXueJinjun. 2006. How high is urban unemployment in China?Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies4 (2): 91–107.
15.
KosugiReiko. 2005. The problems of freeters and “NEETs” under the recovering economy. Social Science Japan: Newsletter of the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo32:6–7.
16.
KosugiReiko. 2006. Youth employment in Japan’s economic recovery: “Freeters” and “NEETs.”Japan Focus4 (5): 11.
17.
LiShiWhalleyJohnXingChunbing. 2014. China’s higher education expansion and unemployment of college graduates. China Economic Review30:567–82.
18.
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. 2015. Statistical bulletin of national education development in 2011. Beijing: Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
19.
MokKa HoJiangJin. 2018. Massification of higher education and challenges for graduate employment and social mobility: East Asian experiences and sociological reflections. International Journal of Educational Development63:44–51.
20.
NiuJian-lin. 2013. Influence of educational attainment on migrants’ selection of destination: A gendered perspective. Collection of Women’s Studies6:13–20.
21.
Population Census Office. 2011. Tabulation on the 2010 Population Census of the People’s Republic of China Book III. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
22.
SchucherGünter. 2014. Loser or rebels? Unemployed youth in China. Paper presented at the ECPR General Conference, September.
23.
SchucherGünter. 2017. The fear of failure: Youth employment problems in China. International Labour Review165 (1): 73–98.
24.
Social Exclusion Unit. 1999. Bridging the gap: New opportunities for 16-18 years olds not in education, employment, or training. London: Stationery Office.
25.
ThompsonRon. 2011. Individualisation and social exclusion: The case of young people not in education, employment or training. Oxford Review of Education37 (6): 785–802.
26.
WangCuntongYuJiao. 2013. The “glass ceiling” effect: An empirical analysis of gender differences in career advancement among Chinese women. Collection of Women’s Studies120 (6): 21–27.
27.
WangJinZhouYiLiuShuyin. 2017. China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey: Design and practice. Chinese Sociological Dialogue2 (3–4): 83–97.
28.
WangLulu. 2013. Youth employment and predictions—Based on the 6th National Census data [in Chinese]. China Labor6:15–17.
ZhanXinhua. 2004. Reexamining urban female unemployment—An analysis from the Fifth Census. Population and EconomicsS1:75–78.
31.
ZhangZhanxin. 2004. Unemployment of urban women in market transition: Theoretical perspectives and empirical findings. Market and Demographic Analysis10 (1): 1–9.
32.
ZhengZhenzhen. 2013. Migration and changes. In Annual report on gender equality and women’s development in China (2008–2012), ed. Tan Lin, 96–111. Beijing: Social Science Academic Press.
