Spring Festival Job Market

Shot by windmup

Just days after the Spring Festival, temporary recruitment stalls appeared outside the local job market. HR managers stood on small stools or steps, holding handwritten signs above the crowd, trying to be seen.

People gathered tightly below — migrant workers, recent graduates, and job seekers who had returned to the city after the holiday. Many kept their heads down, reading job listings, copying phone numbers, or waiting quietly for a chance to ask a question. Conversations were brief. Faces were tired, alert, and restrained.

The scene was informal but intense. No booths, no banners — only printed A4 sheets with the word “Recruitment” written on top. Work opportunities were scarce, and competition was visible in the density of bodies rather than words.

This was a common sight in Chinese cities during the mid-2000s: the moment when the Spring Festival ended and reality resumed. For many, finding work was not a long-term plan but an immediate necessity.

This photograph is part of my long-term documentary work on everyday life and labor in northern China, recorded between assignments and deadlines — moments that rarely made headlines, yet quietly defined an era.