A takeout delivery rider suddenly loses it in the middle of the road, smashing his cellphone on the pavement after getting a negative review from a customer. Another delivery worker gets on his knees to apologize to a cop who pulled him over for running a red light, before jumping up, forcefully pushing over his motorbike and sprinting across a road without regard to traffic.
Shrinking paychecks Against this backdrop, delivery workers’ paychecks have shrunk. In 2018, they made an average of more than $1,000 a month, compared to less than $950 dollars a month in 2023, according to the China New Employment Research Center. The issue is that despite earning less, many now put in longer hours. Lu Sihang, 20, told CNN that he works a 10-hour shift making 30 deliveries per day. He earns about $30 to $40 each shift.