
Having gone five years without a raise, and now facing increased odds of being laid off, a 36-year-old accountant in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu is among those feeling a disconnect between robust headline economic figures and the day-to-day reality.Justin Li has been struggling to make ends meet since the onset of the pandemic.
Since then, his monthly salary of 7,000 yuan (US$975) has not changed.
And now, as his company undergoes a round of lay-offs, his dream of buying a home...