Jobs elusive to new college graduates

By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-10 08:32

Graduation may be just around the corner for 6.1 million Chinese college grads this year, but nearly a third of them are still on the prowl for a job, according to the Ministry of Education.

Amid the global economic slowdown and financial crisis, a record number of would-be grads are struggling to find a job in the grim employment market.

More than 4.1 million students have already secured jobs before graduation, according to the ministry. That mirrors last year's ratio of students who found employment.

Nearly 70 percent of those graduating this July are expected to receive a regular paycheck by September.

The statistics provided by the ministry, however, differ widely with an employment report from an independent consulting firm on higher education. Last month, MyCOS HR Digital Information Co. said that 58 percent of would-be graduates had not signed job contracts at the end of June; 2 percent also had contracts cancelled.

The firm found that in 2008, 86 percent of Chinese college graduates landed jobs within six months after graduation.

Several Chinese experts on education suggest that it's too soon to start discussing the employment rate of new graduates.

More attention should be paid to the rate six months or 12 months after graduation, said Chen Yu, director of China Institute for Occupation Research at Peking University.

"It cannot give us the overall picture of the employment outlook and only places undue pressure on graduates hunting for jobs," Chen told China Daily Thursday.

Yang Dongping, president of 21st Century Education Development Research Institute, a nongovernmental organization promoting China's education system, said the employment rate of college graduates is usually not high when they are leaving school in early July.

"The employment rate six or 12 months after graduation will be more accurate because students now take a longer time to find ideal jobs."

The employment rate from the Ministry of Education is approximately 72 percent three months after graduation, he said.

The Mycos monthly report found that private companies have become the biggest employers, hiring 42 percent of college grads.

State-owned enterprises, foreign companies or joint ventures, and governmental and research institutes are other major job providers.

Only 2 percent of the graduates work at nongovernmental firms.

Due to the financial crisis, a graduate's average monthly salary has declined from 2,484 yuan ($364) in January to 1,995 yuan in June, the report shows.

Beijing and Shanghai offer graduates the highest pay at around 2,400 yuan, while Henan, Guizhou, Anhui and Guangxi provinces offer the poorest salary with 1,700 yuan.

The central government has given top priority to the employment of college graduates and in early January launched a job stimulus package to aid college students in their job hunts.

The employment policies encourage private and state-owned enterprises to create more jobs for college graduates.

College students are also urged to broaden their job search and consider working in grassroots communities, such as in the central and western parts of China. They are also encouraged to start their own businesses.

Chinese universities also decided to expand their post-graduates and doctorate programs this year to enroll 50,000 more students, a 5 percent rise compared to 2008.