Record-high Chinese grads struggle to secure jobs

Structural challenge

Luo Xiaochuan, an official with the Hebei Provincial Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, thinks the current employment problem is structural.

"Graduates are jockeying for a position in big cities and towns, expecting good opportunities, while employers in less-developed regions fail to recruit who they want," said Luo.

Citing a survey in Hebei, he said that science and engineering majors are more welcome in the job market than arts majors.

About 63 percent of science and engineering grads have landed a job so far, standing in sharp contrast to 20 percent of arts and economics majors.

Moreover, gender preference also exists among employers, as 70 percent of the surveyed companies prefer to recruit male employees.

About 63 percent of female graduates polled said they felt more stressed than their male classmates, according to Luo.

Meng Yanjun, a staff member in charge of admission and employment with the Hebei College of Industry and Technology, sees the changing preferences of the younger generations as an obstacle to their employment.

"Graduates born in the 1990s care more about working environment and welfare. They are very particular about wages and the nature of work," Meng said.