Graduates struggle as China slows

By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing

Chinese graduates flood Beijing job fair

At a recent job fair in Beijing, thousands of soon-to-graduate Chinese university students dashed from employer to employer handing over their resumes.

Just a few hours after the two-day fair opened, one company had received 50 job applications for just five positions.

Final-year Chinese students, like others across the world, are currently looking for their first job as they prepare to graduate.

But in China this is the first time in many years that the outlook has been so bleak - and this year there will be 6.1 million new graduates.

The vast China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing has several aircraft-hanger-sized halls. It recently hosted a job fair geared towards graduates.

Fewer jobs

Companies with stalls at the fair said there were just not as many jobs available this year compared to previous years.

One of those with fewer vacancies was Best Talent, a recruitment firm that finds senior and middle managers for international companies.

I just have to continue looking for something suitable Wang Jiumei, student

"There are a lot of candidates at the moment, but even those with a good education are finding it difficult to find jobs," said the company's Vicky Liu as she accepted a curriculum vitae from yet another job hopeful.

A few months ago, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences estimated that about 12% of last year's graduates had still not found jobs.

That figure was three times higher than the official urban unemployment rate.

The job fair attracted students from across China, including 24-year-old Zhang Hai, who is about to graduate from a university in far-off Nanjing.

"Because of the financial crisis the outlook is not that good," said Mr Zhang, who is spending two months in China's capital looking for work.

"There are not that many jobs, but lots of students looking for work so obviously there's a lot of competition," he added.

Mr Zhang, who has been studying computer science, has been given money by his family to rent a flat in Beijing while he looks for work.

"I'm just about to graduate, I'm getting older and I'm still using the family's money so of course there's some pressure on me to find a job," he said.

Who to blame?

Despite the tough competition, students do not seem to be blaming the government for the current difficult job situation.

For the last 20 years the government has been concerned about keeping the university population happy Arthur Kroeber, Dragonomics

"It's a pity, but I can't complain too much. I just have to continue looking for something suitable," said Wang Jiumei, who also attended the Beijing job fair.

The 25-year-old student, who studies English in the nearby city of Tianjin, intends to go abroad to continue her studies if she cannot get a job.

Chinese government officials will be pleased to hear that students are not blaming them for their poor employment prospects.

They had been worried that high graduate unemployment could lead to discontent which, in turn, could cause social unrest.

The Tiananmen protests, which took place in 1989, showed the government that dissatisfied students are capable of taking their demands onto the streets.

"For the last 20 years the government has been concerned about keeping the university population happy," said Arthur Kroeber, managing director at Beijing-based economic research firm Dragonomics.

He said the current employment problems facing graduates was not just because of fewer jobs, but also because there are now more graduates.

But Mr Kroeber believes the problem will sort itself out over time as university students lower their expectations.

"Certain kinds of clerical jobs that used to require only a high school education will increasingly be taken up by people who have a university education," he said.

Help from the government

China says getting people back to work is its main task

But the Chinese government is not just sitting idly by and hoping that will happen. Officials are trying everything they can think of to help graduates find a job this summer.

In the city of Weifang, in Shandong Province, officials in one government department have been told they each have to find jobs for three graduates.

In a country where personal networks are important, Weifang officials have been asked to use all their contacts and influence.

Beijing city government has just announced a scheme to employ 1,600 graduates on three-year contracts as assistants to officials in the villages around the city.

This will not only help develop rural areas, but also find jobs for students who might otherwise be out of work.

The salary for these positions is relatively low - 2,000 yuan ($293, £183) a month for the first year - but the city government is promising other perks to encourage potential applicants.

After their contracts finish, village assistants could be given a Beijing resident's permit, which is vital for all those that want to continue working in the capital.

There are those who believe the Chinese economy is in good shape - despite the global recession - and will soon bounce back, creating more jobs for graduates.

Oliver Huang, whose company Mediaco helps foreign firms check how their brands are doing in China, is optimistic.

"Markets in Europe and the US are now mature, but China is still an emerging country, where the demand is still huge," he said at the Beijing job fair.

But with economic growth slowing and unemployment rising, the government is taking no chances.