Unemployment is so bad that China’s youth are renting 'fake offices' to act like they have jobs

Unemployed young people in China are pretending to have jobs by paying for a service that hides their out-of-work status from their loved ones.

The "pretend to work" service which costs around 30 yuan (US$4) per day imitates what your typical 9-5 job would look like, and this includes a fake office space, lunch, Wi-Fi, complimentary snacks, and even staged interactions with faux supervisors, according to outlets Radii and South China Morning Post.

These types of advertisements, which display the office space and entrepreneurs explaining what the cost covers, have been circulating in cities such as Chengdu and Hangzhou.

This trend comes as the country's youth unemployment rate hit a high in recent years, with it reaching 21.3 per cent for the 16-24 age group in June 2023, but has since dropped to 15.8% per cent in April 2025 (the government has also altered the calculation to exclude students).

Often, young people pay to pretend to work to avoid judgment from others about being unemployed.

"I take photos of my work environment, my family always ask me what I do, I can give them proof," Danyi Wu, who pays for this kind of service, told France 24 as she took photos of the bogus office to send to her family.

  Entrepreneur Yulong Liu gives a tour of the "pretend to work" where there are computers and printer which don't work and are for display only.YouTube/FRANCE 24 English

In the video, unemployed young people can be seen playing card games, and appear to appreciate the relaxed setting of the fake office.

Zhang Yong, a social work professor at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, in central China, reckons this is an “isolated phenomenon” in China.

"Society places a lot of pressure on people to succeed, and young adults sometimes set their job expectations too high," he explained to South China Morning Post, and noted how the "sudden shock" of losing your job and lead to depression.

His advice to those seeking out these "pretend to work" services?

The first place to start is to "take an honest look" at their circumstance, research the job market, as well as be "open with their families and build a healthier mindset about career choices."

Elsewhere, Giant sinkholes discovered containing untouched ancient forests, and China reveals the world's first AI hospital with 42 AI doctors.

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