{
  "id": 5455420,
  "title": "How China’s AI race is shrinking job market, forcing workers into low-paid, manual roles",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/how-chinas-ai-race-is-shrinking-job-market-forcing-workers-into-low",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-04T01:00:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3365695/how-chinas-ai-race-shrinking-job-market-forcing-workers-low-paid-manual-roles"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In recent years, China's artificial intelligence (AI) race has led to a shrinking job market and forced many workers into low-paying, manual roles. This transformation began four years ago when Beijing-based Clare Zhang, a research analyst at a corporate advisory firm, was informed that AI could reduce the number of analysts needed by the company. Zhang's job involved compiling extensive market and competitor studies, a task now completed more efficiently by AI. The company cited AI as the reason for dismissing Zhang and two other former colleagues. This pressure extended beyond individual jobs, with Zhang learning that her former boss faced declining clients who were increasingly using AI to generate in-house research, deeming her reports too expensive. In May, a Chinese court ruled that companies cannot fire employees solely based on AI replacements being cheaper, following a case where a 35-year-old worker at a Hangzhou fintech firm was fired for refusing a demotion and pay cut, claiming his role could be replaced by AI. However, Zhang's experience is part of a broader trend. Over the past three years, AI has evolved from basic text and image generation to more sophisticated systems capable of coding, data analysis, research, and customer service tasks, rendering many jobs vulnerable to automation. Many workers are transitioning to less susceptible positions, such as domestic organizing, childcare, or supermarket packing. Despite warnings from the International Labour Organization that a quarter of global jobs may be exposed to generative AI, China has seen 33.2% of 40.01 million job postings between January and April 2023 involve tasks highly exposed to AI. Zhang, now struggling to find new research positions, anticipates falling back on physical labor if no other opportunities arise. AI's impact on employment in China dates back four years, with 33.2% of 40.01 million job postings between January and April 2023 being highly exposed to AI, primarily affecting entry-level and mid-tier positions in basic operations, accounting, visual content production, and telephone sales. While AI is creating new demand in application and development roles, it is stripping out middle-skilled jobs, where workers once transformed clients' ideas into finished products. This disruption has left many professionals like illustrator Juno Zhu scrambling to adapt, as AI tools rapidly reduce workforce requirements and demand immediate skills.",
  "summary": "For four years, Beijing-based Clare Zhang worked as a research analyst at a corporate advisory firm, helping companies assess technologies and competitors for projects they planned to list – until late last year, when she was told that artificial intelligence had reduced the number of analysts the company needed and could afford. Her job involved combing through company filings and public records…",
  "key_points": [
    "China's AI race shrinking job market, forcing workers into low-paid manual roles.",
    "AI replacing middle-skilled jobs, leaving professionals like illustrator Juno Zhu scrambling.",
    "33.2% of 40.01 million job postings in 2023 highly exposed to AI in China."
  ],
  "editors_take": "China's accelerating AI adoption is transforming its job market, forcing many workers out of higher-skilled roles into lower-paying, manual positions, and leaving professionals struggling to adapt to new demands.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}