One photo shows the young woman sprawled facedown on the ground in a graduation gown, her tasseled cap discarded to the side. Others show her slumped over a chair, collapsed against a wall, and hanging listlessly over a staircase banister.

But the woman in these images hasn’t been harmed – at least, not physically. These are graduation photos, and their theme is “being more dead than alive,” according to the accompanying caption.

In recent weeks, Chinese social media has become awash with tongue-in-cheek images like these, posted by fresh graduates who have chosen to eschew the typical polished portraits in favor of shots they say offer a truer reflection of the tough reality they face.

A record 11.6 million college students are expected to enter the job market this summer, but their prospects look bleak. Urban youth unemployment is at record levels, reaching 20.8% in May, and an influx of new job seekers will only increase the competition.

At the same time, the job market they will be competing in is under stress – posing a risk to the government, which has so far been unable to reverse a trend partially of its own making. The slowing economy has been battered by the government’s now-abandoned strict zero-Covid policy and a regulatory crackdown across the private sector, which accounts for 80% of jobs nationwide.

Among the industries hardest hit are tech and education, two sectors that would normally attract large graduate intakes.

All this makes for a depressing picture for students, many of whom already feel exhausted and discouraged after navigating China’s notoriously competitive education system to reach this point – with little to show for it.

NYSC now your suffering continues

China graduate are facing similar

US graduate have similar experience with tution loan repayment