下岗
Meaning
To be laid off; to lose one's job due to enterprise restructuring or downsizing. Historically linked to the mass layoffs of state-owned enterprise workers in the 1990s.
Deeply associated with China's 1990s SOE reform era, when tens of millions of workers were laid off (下岗工人). Carries a social and historical weight beyond ordinary unemployment. Also used more broadly now for any job loss due to restructuring.
Examples
- 九十年代国企改革期间，数千万工人相继下岗，社会保障体系面临巨大压力。 During state-owned enterprise reforms in the 1990s, tens of millions of workers were laid off one after another, putting enormous pressure on the social security system.
- 父亲下岗后，家里的经济来源一下子断了，全家陷入了困难时期。 After my father was laid off, our family’s income suddenly dried up, and we fell into hard times.
- 政府出台了一系列再就业政策，帮助下岗工人尽快重新融入劳动力市场。 The government introduced a series of reemployment policies to help laid-off workers return to the labor market as quickly as possible.
Usage Guide
Context: economics, labour, history, social policy, family
Tone: serious
Do Say
- 回看九十年代末的城市转型，下岗让许多国企工人失去收入，也冲击了身份与家庭安全感。(Looking back at the urban transformation of the late 1990s, being laid off caused many state-owned enterprise workers to lose income and shook their identity and family security.)
- 九十年代国企改革中的下岗提高了效率，却主要由工人承担成本，并加深了收入分化。(The lay-offs in China's 1990s state-owned enterprise reforms improved efficiency, but workers bore most of the cost and income disparities deepened.)
Don't Say
- 下岗 and 失业 interchangeably — 下岗 specifically refers to being laid off due to enterprise restructuring (with its historical SOE connotation), while 失业 is the general term for unemployment from any cause
Origin & History
下 (leave, go off) + 岗 (post, station, guard position — 山 + 冈, hill + ridge = a post or station) — to leave one's post; to be removed from one's work station
Cultural Context
Era: 1990s–present
Generation: Generation X and above
Social background: Working class
Related Phrases
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