I'm Yaning,

a 46 years old single mom from China.

I lost my job at the start of this year.

For the last six months,

I've been constantly on the job apps sending out resumes.

but I've barely heard back.

The only one time I did get a response,

they asked about my age over the phone and told me I was over the age limit of their position.

And that was it.

A former colleague of mine,

my age, educated overseas

fluent in English, super capable

and had been at top global companies her whole career

reached out yesterday.

She told me she just got laid off from her international company last week.

I asked her what she's gonna do next.

She said it's tough to find a job at our age,

and if nothing turns up,

she's just gonna wait for retirement.

And honestly,

that's just how it is in China right now.

Once you're past 35, finding a job gets really hard.

And the older you get, the harder it gets.

But here's the thing,

the job market overall in China isn't great right now either.

It's not just people over 35,

even a lot of young people are struggling.

I think there are a few reasons.

First,

the economy in China is in a rough spot,

and companies are feeling the squeeze.

A lot of them have no choice but to cut staff and cut costs just to stay alive.

Some small businesses have even gone under already,

leaving their employees out of work.

Second,

AI has come so far in just a few years,

and more and more jobs are slowly getting replaced by it.

Third,

China's got a massive population,

and millions of new grads are pouring into the job market every single year.

So at the end of the day,

there are way more people looking for work than there are jobs, which means some people are just not gonna find a job.

With all that going on, employers have more options,

and they'd much rather hire younger people.

Because they figure people over 35 expect higher pay,

while younger hires come much cheaper.

Also, with years of experience,

older people have got their own ways of doing things,

they're not as easy to manage as younger folks.

And let's be real,

middle-aged people don't have the same energy they used to,

and most of them have families to juggle.

They can't give 100% to work the way someone in their twenties can.

like working overtime.

I feel like people around 40 are still okay,

not a lot of openings, sure,

but if you're willing to take a pay cut or accept a lower position,

you might still have a shot.

But once you're past 45?

Honestly, there's pretty much no hope.

You just have to stop looking,

live off your savings,

or find something else to do on your own.

Some people try stock trading,

some start a little side business,

and others just check out completely and wait for retirement.

Of course,

this is a general phenomenon.

and it doesn't rule out that highly capable people still have a chance,

but the thing is most people are not that "exception".

Recently,

China's been rolling out new policies to gradually push the retirement age back by five years.

But during this transition period,

people my age can still retire at the original age.

As long as you've paid into the social security system for the required number of years,

women can retire as early as 50,

and men at 60.

Once you're retired,

you get a monthly pension and healthcare coverage.

Of course,

how much you get each month depends on how much you'd contributed over the years.

So I've got 4 years to go before I can retire.

That monthly pension will make things a little easier,

but until then, I'm still stressed.

I have a daughter to support,

so I can't just give up and wait it out.

A few friends in the comments on my previous videos suggested that I start a small business,

But the truth is I have no experience in running a business,

and with the economy the way it is right now,

jumping into something blindly would be way too risky.

Other friends suggested I pick up some part-time work,

I've actually been looking for part-time opportunities,

and if anything comes up,

I'm not gonna pass on it.

I also want to say, I feel incredibly lucky.

After I posted my first video on this channel,

I got so much support from friends I've never even met, from all over the world.

You guys gave me advice,

you gave me encouragement,

and it really touched me.

Thanks to your support,

I've got something to keep me busy now.

I'm going to keep making videos ,

though I have to say, my life is pretty boring,

and I'm a little worried I don't have enough interesting stuff to share with all of you.

There's a saying in China,

"Plans can't keep up with changes."

So, I'm not gonna overthink it for now, I'll just focus on doing what I can do.

If you're still watching, please consider subscribing, it really helps me out.

Thank you so much for watching and for all your support💕

see you next time❤️❤️❤️