Jobs panic grips graduates
Pamela Pun
While debate rages over whether Beijing's austerity measures are having any effect, China's 2005 university graduating class is in a panic about its job prospects, with many students chopping their wage expectations by more than half.
That, of course, is assuming that they will be able to find any jobs at all.
In Guangzhou on Sunday, more than 10,000 prospective 2005 graduates stormed a government-sponsored recruitment fair - where 200 jobs were on offer. Only half of them managed to squeeze into the building, according to Information Times, a Guangzhou-based government publication.
According to the Ministry of Education, 3.38 million people will graduate from university next year, an increase of 580,000 or 20.7 per cent, over this year.
The odds of finding a job looked better at a Beijing recruitment fair, but even there, the ratio was more than 20,000 candidates to 8,776 jobs.
In Guangzhou, 40 medium-sized to large companies in the information technology, telecommunications and rapid transit industries were seeking to hire three to four graduates each.
Some students with bachelor's degrees said they were ready to settle for wages of 1,000-1,500 yuan (HK$940-HK$1,410) per month. Holders of master's degrees said they hoped to command about 3,000 yuan.
In both cases, that is roughly 2,000 yuan per month less than they would have expected two years ago.
Most students said personal development opportunities and salary are their top priorities.
A native of Xinjiang province studying at Guangzhou's South China University of Technology said he is determined to find a job in Guangzhou rather than be forced to return home.
``I hope I can find a job with a monthly income of around 2,000 yuan. It is better if the employer is in the Pearl River Delta,'' he said.
The chemistry major said he would prefer sales to working in a laboratory.
In marked contrast to a similar Guangzhou jobs fair two years ago, when many students spent as much as 10,000 yuan to dress for job interviews, most candidates were dressed casually.
In Beijing, which already has a ratio of two job seekers per job, the situation may be about to get worse. A total of 360,000 graduates - 33 per cent more than last year - will invade the capital's job market next year.
Most say they expect salaries of 3,000 yuan a month.
However, in an indication of just how choosy employers feel they can be, Beijing City Commercial Bank said on Monday it would not consider any applications from graduates over the age of 28, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The government's senior economic officials have made little attempt to hide the fact that China's attempts to slow the economy could exact a high price in terms of career prospects. Chen Dongqi, vice-director of the macroeconomic research institute at the National Development and Reform Commission, predicted at a forum in Shanghai that the growth pace of gross domestic product would moderate by 0.6-0.7 per cent, removing 600,000 to 700,000 jobs.
He called job creation one of the biggest challenges China faces in 2005.
In an effort to help future graduates, the central government will launch a National Employment Week starting on December 1.
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