China Gen Z Tries to Leisure-Shop Way Out of Jobless Blues
- Spending on beauty, events up more than other sectors: Mintel
- Country has record youth unemployment amid economic slowdown
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Youth unemployment is at a record high and growth is faltering — but China’s gloomy economic backdrop hasn’t stopped Gen Z from shelling out for travel and leisure.
Since the start of the year, consumers born after 1995 have steadily increased spending on items such as movie tickets, beauty services and visits to bars and sporting events, according to consultancy Mintel Group Ltd. Some 40% of respondents spent more on leisure in August than in the previous month, the survey found, a larger proportion than in other categories of dispensable consumption, like clothing.