" Ant tribe" (zhu=ㄧˇㄗㄨˊ) is a neologism for a group of low-income university graduates who settle for a poverty-level existence in the cities of China. Those who belong to the ant tribe social class hope that, in time, they will find the jobs for which they were trained in college. Lian Si (廉思), then a postdoctoral researcher at Peking University, coined the term "ant tribe" to draw a comparison between the lives of these college graduates and : "They share every similarity with ants. They live in Ant colony in cramped areas. They're intelligent and hardworking, yet anonymous and underpaid."[ "China's 'ant tribe' still struggling." China Daily. December 14, 2010.] Typically consisting of those born during and after the 1980s, the ant tribe is considered the fourth disadvantaged social class in the Chinese social paradigm, alongside the traditionally disadvantaged classes of the peasantry, the , and those formerly employed by government-owned corporations and left unemployed by the economic reform in China.
A Chinese paradigm
Background
After reading "The Down Youth" (向下的青春), an article in
China Newsweek about the difficult living conditions of college graduates born in the 1980s, the PKU
social scientist Lian Si began to research the living conditions of college graduates. Lian found that there was a similarity between the hard-working, smart and "stuck on the ground"
and the struggling crowds of city-dwelling college graduates. This led Lian to coin the
Viral phenomenon phrase "ant tribe".
[Xiao, Zhang. (January 5, 2011). "Ant Tribe leader marches forward." China Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2011.][Yao, Li. (January 6, 2011). "Prof bonds with ant tribe." China Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2011.] The college graduates, with degrees in economics, engineering, management and medicine, and based upon a seven-city survey are earning on average US$286 (Chinese yuan 1,904) a month as reported in 2010. The 2010 Annual Report on the Development of Chinese Talent, which reports the results of another survey, estimates that there are 1 million people who fit the definition of ant tribe members living in slum conditions.
A key characteristic of the ant tribe is their optimism. After college education, young people often stay in urban areas to maximize their career prospects. As a result, they accept the short-term consequences of starting-level positions for which they are over-qualified, believing that they will rise to their desired job level in time. There's a correlation between the prestige of degree and the size of the city that they hope to live. Students from the best colleges generally flock to big cities, while students with vocational training are more likely to vie for positions in smaller cities.[ '"Ant tribe" grows bigger.' China Daily. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2011.]
To control costs, ant tribe people are likely to rent small rooms or share a crowded small apartment in the city slums. Accommodation is often spartan: little furniture and no air conditioning, even as the temperatures in the major cities of China frequently exceed 100 °F (38 degrees Celsius). Some ant tribe dwellings have no window and many utilize a shared bath, unless their owners are able and willing to shoulder the costs for a private bath.
Factors
Some of the factors that made the plights of the ant tribe possible and difficult to surmount in China are:
General economic and market factors
Rising housing costs, as much as 33% increase over recent years and a 9.5% increase from 2009 to 2010, have made it very difficult to find affordable housing. Successful programs to recruit college students has resulted in a large number of individuals seeking professional positions. In 1998 the program to build the number of professionals saw the successful number of graduates reach 830,000. The number rose to 6 million by May, 2009. However, there were no reciprocal programs to ensure that professional positions would be available for these new graduates.[Jacobs, Andrew. (December 11, 2010). "China's Army of Graduates Struggle for Jobs." The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2011.][Jennings, Ralph (writer); Pomfret, James (reporter); Goldin Megan (editor). (February 17, 2010) China's "ant tribe" poses policy challenge for Beijing. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved December 27, 2011.]
Education reform
In 1996, China began expanding university enrollment to meet growing demands of educated laborers, which contributed to the deflation of the undergraduate degree. Excessive enrollment and ignorance of professional training skills massively inflated the raw number of college graduates, while the market demanded more technical laborers.[ As a result, the skill set of Chinese college graduates became undesirable to the growing market.
]
Wages
Wages in many positions have been cut between 50 and 100% in large cities because of the large number of people entering the job markets there, making wages lower than factory workers. Regarding alternative temporary jobs, these young adults may accept jobs where their wage is subject to aggressive that, if unmet, lowers their actual wage. Wages for professional positions has not seen a substantial change up or down. Consequently, even if the ant tribe people eventually attain their desired job level, these jobs would worth even less due to increases in the cost of living. Due to the structure of China's economy, the demand for uneducated manual laborers to work in manufacturing has soared, resulting in an up to an 80% increase in pay over the six-year period between 2003 and 2009.[
]
Socio-economic factors
Most of the ant tribe come from rural or less developed districts, and many are raised in uneducated agriculture families. Graduates who come from a rural background may not have the social skills and connections (" guanxi") important in building a successful career. People who have migrated into the city are not eligible for government supported programs, such as social welfare benefits and subsidized housing. Traditionally, those who have migrated from rural towns to the cities consider it shameful to seek work in their hometown. Often, their parents have endured significant hardship to support the student through college and placed hopes of attaining a higher living standard in the cities upon those college graduates. To many in the ant tribe, it is preferable to stay in the city regardless of the living and working conditions, even if many of them cannot even afford to travel home during Chinese New Year, traditionally a time for family reunion. As of 2012, the 80s generation are approaching the age when they are socially pressured to marry and to have children, which requires even better living conditions.[ Looking at city "ant tribes" is the starting point to solve the problem. Tencent News. February 22, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2012. (Translated).][Siew, Chen; Yahong Li. (January 13, 2010). China's 'Ant Tribe': Between Dreams and Reality. IPS News. Retrieved January 6, 2012.]
If more opportunities do not become available for the 1980s generation, their dissatisfaction presents a significant socio-economic challenge for the Chinese government.[
]
Transition
As the result of publicity of Lian's book on the ant tribe, representatives from the National People's Congress (NPC) visited Tangjialing, a district of Beijing reportedly with the largest population of ant tribe people, to review the situation. Following their review, a plan was developed by the local government to improve the ant tribe's living conditions.[Wei, Wang. (August 8, 2010). Ant tribe swams to new villages. China Daily. Retrieved August 27, 2011.]
In the meantime, many of the people that Lian originally studied are still living a marginal existence.[Hongyi, Wang. (August 19, 2010). 'Ant tribe' should try luck in smaller cities: poll. China Daily. Retrieved December 27, 2011.][ Instead of flocking to big cities in search of the American Dream, social scientists encourage them to try their luck in smaller cities. Rather than being blinded by the glamor of success in a big city, "they should gain more insight into their own strengths and weakness, in order for them to make the right decisions."][ 'Ant tribe' should try luck in smaller cities: poll. China.org. August 19, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2012.]
Proposed solutions
-
To relieve the pressure felt by the ant tribe and caused by the rapidly increasing real estate prices, the Chinese government has taken some actions, such as lowering taxes, constructing cheaper rental apartments, and legislating a higher minimum wage.
-
Another proposed solution is for universities to limit their enrollments and to establish undergraduate curricula that more specifically aimed at fields with attainable jobs.
[ The Ant Tribe's solutions. WIX.com. Retrieved January 6, 2012.]
Related information
-
Song composed by Li Liguo and Bai Wanlong which expresses the feeling of the ant tribe.
-
The Struggle of Ant Tribe (蚁族的奋斗, or 我要怒放的生命)
Comparison to other countries and regions
-
Generally, the rate of unemployment is much lower for individuals with college or university degrees. As of 2008, there were only four countries where the largest share of the unemployed were made up of people with college or university degrees: Taiwan, Belarus, Peru and the United States.
[ Educational attainment and illiteracy International Labour Organization. pp. 8–9. Retrieved December 28, 2011.]
-
In Asia, based on an International Labour Organization (ILO) report from 2010, there is a lower job participation rate of young adults, which may make them another "Lost Generation". This is partially due to college graduates leaving their homelands to find jobs in other countries, resulting in a brain drain.
[Clifford, Mark L.; Pau, Janet. (2011). "Through the Eyes of Tiger Cubs: Views of Asia's Next Generation." John Wiley & Sons (Asia). p. 27-28. .]
-
In Palestine there are about 45,000 people entering the job market each year. The Palestinian Employment and Social Protection Fund is working to expand employment opportunities, including those for college graduates.
-
In Egypt, 90% of the unemployed are younger than 30 years of age. This is partly due to different expectations between employers and college graduates of the skills required for gainful employment and a lack of support for graduating young adults for a successful school-to-work transition. An ILO project is being initiated to modernize Egypt's employment office services to better support the transition of young adults into the workforce.
[ "Decent work for Africa's Youth" International Labour Organization. Retrieved December 28, 2011.]
-
In Hong Kong, a Youth Preemployment Training Programme was developed to help ease graduates into the workforce. About 2000, 50% of graduates interested in attaining employment found good jobs. Further monies were provided to the program at the turn of the decade to continue the program.
[ Hong Kong: Active Labour Market Policy Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific: Analytical Framework and Policy Recommendations, International Labour Organization. pp. 64–65. Retrieved December 28, 2011.]
-
In Indonesia, where the rate of college graduates in the labor force has been increasing over the past 30 years, the rate of employment is higher for those with college degrees than those who have not graduated from college, therefore governmental programs to address unemployment among young adults focuses on training programs to develop marketable skills. The government also encourages university graduates to establish their own businesses.
[ Indonesia. Youth Employment in Asia and the Pacific: Analytical Framework and Policy Recommendations, International Labour Organization. pp. 65–72. Retrieved December 28, 2011.]
See also
Notes
Further reading
Chinese
-
Lian, Si. (editor). (2009). Ant Tribe: A Record of Inhabited Village of University Graduates. (蚁族：大学毕业生聚居村实录). Guangxi Normal University Publishing House.
-
Lian, Si. (2010). Ant Tribe II: Whose Era Is It. (谁的时代（2010中国"蚁族"生存报告）). Zhongxin Publishing House.
-
Yan, Huan. (2010). Ant Tribe: Place Our Youth in the Ant Cave. (蚁族：蚁穴中安放的青春). The Northern Women and Children Publishing House.
English
