Record number of graduates face tough job prospects

BEIJING: The population of college graduates is projected to reach a record high this year, turning an already tough job market into a pressure cooker and intensifying the scramble for talent nationwide.

To many new graduates, mega cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, are less attractive due to their high cost of living and greater peer pressure in the job market. Thus, the graduates are looking elsewhere.

The trend is changing the employment landscape in China, but it is good news for second- and thirdtier cities.

A recent report by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission said more than 231,000 college students graduated in Beijing last year, but 37.5% of employed graduates chose to work outside the capital.

A female college student surnamed Zhang said she chose to work in Wuhan, Hubei province, after graduating in June 2018.

“The biggest reason driving me away from Beijing was the living cost,” she said. “Though I can earn between 8,000 yuan (RM4,830) and 10,000 yuan (RM6,040) a month in Beijing, the rent may cost me 3,000 yuan (RM1,810) or more each month, let alone other expenses such as meals and transportation.”

In contrast, so-called new firsttier cities like Chengdu, Sichuan province; Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; and Wuhan have sprung up as new attractions to college graduates for their cheaper living costs and preferential policies to newcomers.

Data cited from online recruitment platform Zhaopin showed that college students slated to graduate this year had higher expectations of working in these cities than in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.