India, Aug. 12 -- In a struggling job market, some young adults in China are paying companies for the chance to sit in fully equipped offices. These unemployed youngsters don't want a salary. Instead, they pay for the privilege of pretending to have a job.

According to a BBC report, this unusual trend has been growing in major cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu and Kunming, as the country's youth unemployment rate remains above 14%.

Shui Zhou, 30, joined Dongguan's Pretend To Work Company in April this year after his food business shuttered in 2024. For 30 yuan ( Rs.365) a day, he shares an office with five others doing the same.

"I feel very happy," he says. "It's like we're working together as a group." Zhou, ...