AI Hiring Thaw Helps Relieve Tech Talent Glut in China

Li Haoran, a non-computer science major, struggled to secure a satisfactory job offer during the main recruitment period in 2024 but persisted with internships and interviews until May 2025, eventually landing a position in the large-model division of a leading Chinese tech company. His success coincided with a hiring surge in early 2025 fueled by new AI-driven startups like DeepSeek, which prompted tech giants to expand their AI operations and generate new employment opportunities.[para. 1][para. 2]

Despite some individual success stories and a noticeable increase in campus recruitment activity, the technology job market for fresh graduates remains highly competitive and challenging. The tech industry, particularly after several years marked as "cold winters" since the pandemic, is seeing some signs of recovery in AI-related fields. Still, for the majority of computer science graduates, landing a coveted position at one of China’s major tech companies (often referred to as “big factories”) is becoming increasingly arduous. Companies are demanding ever-higher academic credentials and substantial internship experience, making the market tougher and more exclusionary for many graduates.[para. 3][para. 4]

Several prominent Chinese tech companies have recently announced large-scale recruitment plans, projecting a more optimistic employment outlook. For instance, Tencent launched its largest-ever recruitment drive in April, aiming to offer 28,000 internships over three years and recruit 10,000 campus interns in 2025, with 60% in technology roles and a special “Qingyun Plan” for global technology students in its large-model division. Baidu revealed plans for 21,000 internships in three years, emphasizing AI fields, and JD.com committed to its "largest ever retention effort," promising over 10,000 internships and 35,000 openings (20,000 for new graduates and 15,000 for interns) with early 2026 recruitment.[para. 6][para. 7][para. 8][para. 9][para. 10]

This recruitment activity has generated renewed optimism among some students, who report more job opportunities and smoother employment processes compared to previous years. However, those pursuing graduate studies worry that future job offers may not be as favorable. While the current graduate cohort saw successful placements during the main autumn recruitment drive, the underlying market remains uncertain.[para. 11][para. 12]

Despite provisional optimism, the overall labor market structure for the tech sector shows a downward trend since 2022. Financial reports from leading firms reveal staff reductions: Baidu’s workforce fell by 21.1% from its 2021 peak to 35,900 by the end of 2024, with R&D staff dropping 29%. Alibaba saw its employee count plummet over 50% from over 254,000 in March 2022 to 124,320 in March 2025. Even JD.com, while growing overall, saw tech positions decline almost 15% from a 2021 peak.[para. 14][para. 15][para. 16][para. 17]

Industry veterans cite the end of the mobile internet boom and tightening salary budgets, with typical job-switch salary increases capped at 30% (down from previous norms of 50%–100%), reflecting reduced capital market inflows. Concurrently, surging enrollment in computer science—with 435,000 national admissions in 2024, up by more than 40,000 from the previous year—has led to a glut in supply. Authorities in multiple provinces have flagged computer science as over-enrolled or low in employment rate.[para. 18][para. 19][para. 20][para. 21]

Consequently, less-qualified graduates struggle to secure jobs—even at smaller firms—and overall undergraduate placement rates for computer science students dropped to 82.4% six months after graduation in 2024, below the national average and previous rates, with monthly salaries slightly declining as well.[para. 22][para. 23]

The industry, as summarized, faces cyclical adjustment and talent oversupply, with high-level roles in AI and big data demanding advanced qualifications and driving increased competition—heralding the end of the tech jobs gold rush and the start of an era marked by arduous competition.[para. 24]