Millions of Chinese turn to cab driving amid slowing economy
Millions of Chinese turn to cab driving amid slowing economy
2023-08-17
We now look across the strait to China, where millions of people have turned to driving taxis to survive. As of June 30, China had issued 5.79 million driving licenses for online taxi services. That’s a 45% increase compared to last year. In China’s major cities, long lines of waiting taxicabs are now a common sight. According to experts, the influx of cabbies is a sign of widespread unemployment and trouble in China’s economy.
Underneath the overpass, taxis are bumper to bumper, as far as the eye can see. In many major cities of China, there are now far more cabs than customers.
Cab driver
China
On the morning of Aug. 14 at Daxing International Airport, there were 150 taxis in line. I had to wait five hours before getting a journey. The trip was 48 kilometers and I earned 162 yuan. Then I picked up a 7.4 kilometer journey and made 26 yuan. I spent six hours on two rides and made 188 yuan.
With China’s unemployment rate surging, the jobless have turned to driving to survive. As of this June, China had granted 5.79 million taxi licenses, a yearly increase of 45%. In cities like Shanghai and Changsha, authorities have suspended applications for transport service permits.
Jimmy Wang
Financial analyst
The sharp increase in taxicabs signals that the unemployment crisis is not limited to the 18-to-24-year-old demographic. It may extend to those in the 30s, 40s, and even people aged 45 and older.
Fu Linghui
Chinese National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson
Starting this August, the release of urban unemployment rates for youth and other age groups across the country will be suspended.
Amid rising joblessness, China has stopped releasing its youth unemployment rate. According to Peking University professor Zhang Dandan, the true youth unemployment rate may have hit 46.5% in March. That’s well above the official rate of 19.7%.
Jimmy Wang
Financial analyst
When Biden was running for president, he said that China’s economy was heading toward recession. This remark may have dealt a blow to Xi Jinping’s confidence, to the point where he’s covering up the data altogether, so that no one can see the real situation. But what happens when you conceal data is that international investors have no way of assessing the state of China’s economy. They can’t make effective investments. Recently the biggest impact of this might be seen in the exchange rate.
So far this year, the Chinese yuan has depreciated by about 5% against the U.S. dollar, making it the worst-performing currency in Asia. Experts say that China’s economic recession caused the plight of its major property developer, Country Garden. By moving to scrub official data, China is only worsening investor fears, driving a vicious cycle of economic woes.
中國中壯年失業開小黃 裝10幾支手機怕接嘸客
2023-08-17
中國官方15號，宣布暫停公布青年失業率，在市場投下震撼彈，不過不只青年求職困難重重，中壯年失業也高，因此今年六月底為止，中國計程車發放證照高達579萬本，年增45%，現在路邊排隊的車，比乘客還要多，專家分析，中國隱藏真實數據，勢必影響國際投資，陷入惡性循環。
還沒下高架橋，就看到整排計程車，看不到盡頭，車子比乘客多的情形，正在中國，各大城市上演。
[[中國計程車司機]]
“8/14早上在大興機場，150輛車，排了5小時才出車，排了個48公里的跑了162元，順了一單7.4公里跑了26元，6個小時就跑了這兩單188元”
中國失業潮來襲，失業者轉行跑車、求生存，讓全中國計程車駕駛證件，6月前，一下暴增45%，來到579萬本，上海、長沙等城市，也陸續暫停受理，車輛運輸證申請。
[[財經名嘴 汪潔民]]
“計程車大幅的增加，恐怕失業率已經不是單純說18到24歲，是不是已經往30歲 40歲，甚至45歲以上跑”
[[中國國家統計局新聞發言人 付凌暉]]
“今年自8月份開始，全國青年人等分年齡段的城鎮調查失業率，將暫停發布”
中國官方蓋牌，不再顯示青年失業率，無疑驗證了北京大學副教授張丹丹，3月研究報告顯示的，中國青年實際失業率，最高可上看46.5%，遠高於官方公布的19.7%。
[[財經名嘴 汪潔民]]
“拜登在競選的時候，他說中國經濟已經走向衰退，會不會是這句話，重重的去打擊到習近平的信心，那最好的方式就是我蓋牌，不讓你們都知道我的真實狀況，可是蓋牌它所衍生的效果，是所有的國際資金沒有辦法研究中國的經濟，也就沒有辦法有效去做投資，最近最大的震撼彈，恐怕是匯率可能會開第一槍”
人民幣兌美元匯率今年來累計大貶約5%，成為表現最差的亞洲貨幣，專家直言，碧桂園暴雷危機，就是中國經濟衰退所造成，如今中國採取下下策，隱藏真實數據，也影響國際投資，陷入惡性循環。
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