Record-high Chinese grads struggle to secure jobs

Wang Sheping, the supervisor of the SMEC's Students Affairs Department, said that of the municipality's total 178,000 graduates, approximately 130,000 people hope to find employment.

The city's job openings were estimated at 150,000, but salaries have been a very important consideration for graduates, Wang said.

Stronger-than-ever employment promotion

Faced with the record-high supplies, Chinese governments have made greater-than-ever efforts to boost employment.

The Shanghai education authority, for instance, is considering an experimental program to encourage university graduates to engage in social services, but detailed incentives have yet to be released.

In northern China's Hebei province, graduates who opt to start their own businesses will receive government subsidies. Graduates opening small businesses are eligible to enjoy preferential treatment in loans and social security outlays.

The Ministry of Education has also issued an order to ban employment discrimination based on gender, household registration and educational background.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Government announced that it would offer a monthly subsidy of 2,700 yuan ($439.12) per person to 2,500 graduates who majored in agriculture, husbandry, forestry and water resources and are willing to work in rural areas for two years.

At the end of their service, the regional government may offer them preferential admittance into the civil service or they may enjoy a 10-point bonus in the entrance exam for postgraduates.

In a gesture to boost employment, Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited a human resources development and promotion center and a vocational school in Tianjin over the past two days.

He said that employment is a worldwide problem, but one that is vital to people's livelihood.

The issue must be addressed from an overall perspective. A fundamental way to boost employment is to expand the economy, he noted, adding that the greater the Chinese economy is, the better the job market.

China's economy expanded by 7.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, lower than the 7.9 percent seen during the same period of last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The year's economic growth target is 7.5 percent, while the increase in new jobs is projected at 9 million, with the registered unemployment rate for urban and township dwellers set below 4.6 percent.