BEIJING — China will see a record number of graduates moving into the job market this year. Seven million will complete their studies in 2013 and shift their attention toward building a career. With China’s economy already slowing, job prospects for many new graduates are not good.
There are not only seven million graduates this year moving into the market, but more than 200,000 who graduated last year are still looking for jobs.
“Only 30 percent of graduates can sign a contract and be employed right away," explained Hu Xingdou, an economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology. "The majority of students have to continue to look for work or remain unemployed."
And it’s not just the number of graduates that is making the search for jobs difficult. After a decade of double-digit growth, China’s economy is slowing. Chinese leaders admit they are struggling to keep growth around seven percent.
But, Hu Xingdou said the biggest problem is the unsustainable structure of China’s industry and the huge disparities between regions.
“There are many places in China where graduate students are needed, but graduate students are not willing to go. For example private enterprises in China have a strong need for graduate students, but students prefer to go to state owned enterprises, government departments, public institutions, foreign companies and so forth,” Hu said.
Recently, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on companies to give more opportunities to new graduates. In response, some privately run enterprises have announced increases in their hiring of new graduates.
The government is planning to give private companies tax incentives and funding to help level the playing field with state-owned enterprises. They will also encourage new graduates to work in smaller cities away from China’s coastal areas by giving them subsidies or other incentives.
adapted from VOA
