Occupational Choices and Mobility of Young Flexible Workers—Empirical Evidence from Tianjin

In the era of rapid digital economy advancement, the burgeoning flexible youth workforce plays an increasingly pivotal role in China’s labour market. Nonetheless, the research focus on their career choices and mobility remains inadequate. By using Tianjin as a case study, this research undertakes an initial investigation through an online survey. The key discoveries are as follows: (1) Flexible employment is predominantly prevalent in the e-commerce and sharing economy domains. (2) The primary sources of flexible workers include former government and institutional employees, full-time homemakers, migrant workers, and retired military personnel, with the former group constituting the majority at over 60%. (3) The primary reasons for selecting jobs revolve around seeking higher earnings and pursuing personal interests. (4) Notably, this cohort exhibits a substantial job retention rate and limited mobility post-employment. These revelations offer a preliminary insight into this subject, underscoring the necessity for further longitudinal and subsequent studies.