Spotlight | Summer Workers Flock to the World's Factory — Gathering on the Streets, Awaiting a Chance to Enter the Plants (AI Translation)

显影｜暑假工涌入“世界工厂” 聚在街头等一个进厂的机会

The summer job market for students in the manufacturing city of Kunshan, Suzhou, traditionally known as the "world's factory," has become increasingly challenging in 2023. Though this area historically attracts numerous students seeking temporary summer jobs due to higher wages and abundant opportunities, this year, the number of available positions has fallen short of expectations. This shortfall, combined with recruitment agencies exaggerating job prospects to increase their commissions, has led to an oversupply of student workers and frequent incidents of students being stranded—highlighting the reality that the promised high wages are often based on conditions most students cannot actually meet. [para. 1]

On July 20th, high school student Hu Yongwang secretly left home and traveled from Zhengzhou, Henan, to Kunshan, lured by promises of a "monthly wage of 5,000 yuan" for summer factory work. Similarly, Zhao Xiangge, who had just finished the college entrance exam, journeyed from Pingdingshan, Henan. Both were expecting quick employment, but upon arrival, found themselves part of a large group of over 40 students gathered outside a hotel, managed by intermediaries who collected IDs and outlined the details and demands—such as concealing their student status and passing physical checks (no tattoos, scars, or metal implants). Daily pay was explained as around 160 yuan for 10-hour shifts, though these calculations were based on long hours and did not account for overtime or other factors. [para. 2][para. 3]

While police warned students against fraudulent or exploitative intermediary fees, students endured long waits, crowding hotel lobbies and surrounding areas, with some forced to seek shelter indoors during inclement weather. Many ended up on the streets for days, not finding work after long journeys. In some cases, intermediaries charged students a 100-yuan deposit with the dubious promise of a refund if they stayed until a specified date—a tactic that added to students' financial burden. Some students were redirected to distant factories with harsher conditions and lower pay, furthering the sense of instability and precarity. [para. 4][para. 5][para. 6]

Only a small fraction found job placements, and even fewer managed to enter the factories; hundreds waited at various locations, sometimes days at a time, for opportunities. The influx was so large that labor agencies prioritized students who had been stranded longer, often resulting in newcomers having to wait even longer. Even those who secured jobs often found the real conditions fell far short of the advertised terms, with actual earnings undermined by rigid eligibility requirements such as being present until a specific date to earn the full "high wage." Calculations showed that many could only earn about 3,423 yuan in August, lower than their living costs, and would miss out on various bonuses and subsidies unless they stayed the full contractual term—something most students couldn't manage. [para. 7][para. 8][para. 9]

Behind the scenes, intermediaries and labor agencies benefited from student workers at every step—sometimes from the factories (200-500 yuan per student after 7 days' attendance), sometimes by charging for transport, medical checks, or even overpriced bedding. While online intermediaries charged fees for arranging fake bank documents required by factories, the core profit model was consistent: maximizing the flow of students into the labor market for various cuts and commissions. [para. 10][para. 11][para. 12]

The real issue is a mismatch between the oversupply of willing student labor and the shrinking demand for summer labor in manufacturing hubs like Kunshan, Shenzhen, and Xiamen. Meanwhile, local intermediary staff, constrained by industry rules and competition, could not "poach" students from each other and lived under the constant tension of needing enough jobs to supply waiting students. Ultimately, all these arrangements rely on the basic so-called "sheep's wool coming from the sheep's back" logic: the entire chain of intermediary and labor company profits is generated at the expense of the student workers themselves. [para. 13][para. 14][para. 15]