dreamweaver
02-01-2009, 01:58 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7802561.stm
China's graduates will find it tougher than ever to get jobs in the coming year, as China's economy slows down and unemployment rises.
Experts say a chronic over-supply of graduates and a shortage of "high end" jobs had already been causing difficulties, but the mass lay-offs and business closures in recent months has made the situation even worse.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has told students that the problem of graduate employment is "at the top of the government's agenda".
Six and a half million graduates in China will be looking for a job over the next year.
The government says it is going to try to create nine million jobs for them and for those from previous years who are still unemployed.
That will not be easy though. Economic growth in China is expected by some to fall below the figure of 8%, cited by many as the minimum needed to continue to create enough jobs.
There are three problems for the new graduates to cope with.
Firstly the economic slowdown here means there are fewer jobs available.
Secondly widespread redundancies mean there are more experienced people than there might have been in previous years, trying to secure the same jobs as them.
Thirdly there are many graduates from previous years who are still jobless.
Shattered hopes
Cao Shanshan studied exhibition planning and management at Shanghai Business School.
She said everyone thought it would be easy for her to get a job when she graduated, because Shanghai will host the World Expo in 2010.
But even though she has had dozens of interviews at job fairs, she has not managed to land the kind of job she wanted.
"I've ended up with an intern job," she says, "which is nothing to do with my major."
She says she is earning about $230 (£159) a month, more than many of her classmates who have had to take jobs that give them half that, but far less than she had hoped for.
"I might go back to school to study for a masters degree because it's so hard," she says. "Hopefully finding a job will be easier with a higher qualification."
China's graduates will find it tougher than ever to get jobs in the coming year, as China's economy slows down and unemployment rises.
Experts say a chronic over-supply of graduates and a shortage of "high end" jobs had already been causing difficulties, but the mass lay-offs and business closures in recent months has made the situation even worse.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has told students that the problem of graduate employment is "at the top of the government's agenda".
Six and a half million graduates in China will be looking for a job over the next year.
The government says it is going to try to create nine million jobs for them and for those from previous years who are still unemployed.
That will not be easy though. Economic growth in China is expected by some to fall below the figure of 8%, cited by many as the minimum needed to continue to create enough jobs.
There are three problems for the new graduates to cope with.
Firstly the economic slowdown here means there are fewer jobs available.
Secondly widespread redundancies mean there are more experienced people than there might have been in previous years, trying to secure the same jobs as them.
Thirdly there are many graduates from previous years who are still jobless.
Shattered hopes
Cao Shanshan studied exhibition planning and management at Shanghai Business School.
She said everyone thought it would be easy for her to get a job when she graduated, because Shanghai will host the World Expo in 2010.
But even though she has had dozens of interviews at job fairs, she has not managed to land the kind of job she wanted.
"I've ended up with an intern job," she says, "which is nothing to do with my major."
She says she is earning about $230 (£159) a month, more than many of her classmates who have had to take jobs that give them half that, but far less than she had hoped for.
"I might go back to school to study for a masters degree because it's so hard," she says. "Hopefully finding a job will be easier with a higher qualification."