As China's e-commerce sector develops rapidly, the livestreaming industry has ushered in a period of rapid growth, with increased demand for talent and the creation of more than 30 new occupations within the industry.
According to the data from the Annual Report on China's Internet Audiovisual Service Development, as of December 2023, the number of short video accounts across all applications had reached 1.55 billion, with 15.08 million professional live streamers. The demand for talent in this industry has increased significantly, with a current talent gap of 8 million which is projected to rise to 19.4 million by 2025.
"Online livestreaming is among the top occupations, creating many other jobs including internet marketers. Team roles focused on livestreaming sales, product selection, innovation, and promotion may evolve into new job opportunities in the future," said Fan Wei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Personnel Science.
Data showed that those born between 1980 and 2000 have become the major force in this trend, with people born in the 1980s and 1990s accounting for 31 percent and 27 percent of the total workforce, respectively.
An emerging occupation is live-streaming recruiter, which has become a new trend in employee hiring. To provide job seekers with a better understanding of potential jobs, live-streaming recruiters create livestreaming rooms that replicate actual workplaces.
"They will instantly know their work environment once they come to my channel. For example, I tell them that workers at a wheel hub plant will earn around 6,000 to 10,000 yuan (about 832.5 to 1,387.5 U.S. dollars)(per month). Seeing the uniform and the workplace setup helps them get a personal feel," said Yan Wei, a livestreaming recruiter.
Livestreaming recruiters bridge the gap between employers and employees by conducting audits and verifying qualifications before matching candidates with suitable employers.
"The live recruiting team classifies enterprises based on their qualifications. For instance, some enterprises have high employment rates but low retention. We need to conduct market research beforehand and screen employers to ensure we are responsible for job seekers," said Yan.
New occupations emerge amid China's booming livestreaming industry
Israel bombed a school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people including staff members with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and wounding dozens of the displaced seeking shelter there.
UNRWA has confirmed that six of its staff were killed in two airstrikes on the Al-Jaouni School in Central Gaza's Al Nuseirat refugee camp, including the shelter's manager.
UNRWA said the deaths mark the highest number of its staff killed in a single incident over the past 11 months.
In a statement on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the fatal attack on the school housing refugees, and called the lack of civilian protection in Gaza "unconscionable".
He also said the lack of accountability for Israel's killing of UN staff and humanitarian workers in Gaza is completely unacceptable.
Meanwhile, an Israeli government spokesperson said the attack was legitimate, accusing Hamas of using the school as a command and control center.
Hamdi Ali, the father of one of the children who died in the Israeli bombing, shared the hardships they've lived through. But despite everything, he said he will remain in the school because there is no safe place to go.
"We are peaceful civilians. We were displaced to this school in search of safety and reassurance. I lost my son Obaida in the bombing, and I don't know who else I’ll lose next time. Maybe I'll lose my wife, the rest of my children, or even myself. I could be one of the next victims, or any of the other displaced people here in the school," said the father.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, dozens of people injured in the attack on the school have been sent to Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospita, among whom a large number are women and children.
"We were surprised by a missile that penetrated three floors and hit the place where we were. Half of the floor collapsed and my sister fell down. My other sister and I were injured by missile shrapnel and were trapped under the rubble. One of my sisters had a broken arm, and the other had injuries on her head and back," said Lubna Jalo, a witness of the airstrike.
The Al-Jaouni School shelters about 12,000 displaced Palestinians, with most of them being women and children. It is run by UNRWA and has been bombed five times since the beginning of the ongoing war.
Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip had risen to 41,084, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Wednesday.
Israeli airstrike on Gaza school kills UN staff, displaced Palestinians
