# Zeng Xiangquan

China’s Long Workweek Stalls After Nine Years — But Overwork, Low Wages and Underemployment Linger

Average weekly working hours for enterprise employees in China fell in 2025 after nine years of increases, a shift driven by limits to hours, growing anti‑overtime sentiment and better enforcement. Yet entrenched overwork among many and rising underemployment among others, combined with low hourly wages and higher employer social insurance costs, point to persistent structural problems that simple declines in hours will not solve.