Article by Chen Yiru: “From a restaurant shift to a quick plumbing job, gig work in China is now just a phone shake away.
That’s the idea behind Tencent’s new “Nearby Jobs” feature, which was quietly rolled out nationwide on its messaging super app WeChat last week. Aimed at flexible job seekers, the tool connects users to verified listings in fields like driving, design, tech support, and catering — all within the country’s most-used app.
First piloted in Jiangmen, a city in the southern Guangdong province, the mini-program has expanded to more than 200 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Tencent says it has already helped over 24,000 people secure short-term work, with filters that let users sort listings by pay, distance, payment schedule, and even gender preferences.The “Nearby Jobs” tool borrows from WeChat’s classic “Shake” feature, first introduced in 2012 to connect nearby users by physically shaking their phones. While the original version was discontinued for mainland users in early 2024 due to privacy concerns, traces of the function have recently resurfaced in limited testing — hinting at a possible revival.
The launch comes amid rising demand for platforms that can bridge the gap between gig employers and job seekers. China is home to an estimated 200 million flexible workers, and market demand for blue-collar labor has surged 380% over the past five years, according to a 2024 industry report. Younger workers are driving much of this growth, with job applicants under 25 rising by 165% during the same period…(More)”.