China’s micro-dramas grow into billion-yuan industry as graduates scramble for work

China’s labour market just keeps getting tougher every year, with the annual addition of over 10 million new struggling jobseekers fresh out of university — plus those returning home after finishing degrees overseas. Luckily, the boom in short-form videos, which sparked the rise of China’s “micro-drama” industry, is giving many of them a much-needed lifeline.

In fact, a Chinese woman in her early 30s who earned a master’s degree overseas shared on social media last year that her career only became stable after acting in micro-dramas in 2024. After deciding to use her RMB70,000 savings to produce one herself, she was able to earn up to RMB15,000 a month — while also hiring several friends who were looking for work.

Not only did it create jobs, but it also made unused commercial and residential properties profitable, as they were repurposed into film sets.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing a study by Peking University’s National School of Development, that Duanju (Chinese term for micro dramas), which run just a few minutes per episode, directly generated about 690,000 jobs in 2025 alone. Including upstream and downstream roles, it sums up to over two million positions.

After just six years, micro drama, which started in China in 2018, surpassed its national box office revenue in 2024, raking in about RMB50.5 billion, and is on track to reach RMB85.6 billion by next year, according to the China Television Drama Production Industry Association.

China’s micro-drama industry is now churning out roughly 3,000 new titles each month, with each drama only taking five to 10 days of filming. Previously, production teams consisted of just about 12 people, but crews have now grown to between 60 and 90. /TISG

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