Epidemic takes toll on graduates
College graduates this year are confronted with greater pressure finding jobs, as large-scale job fairs have been suspended due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The economic loss the epidemic has brought to companies also raised the bar for college graduates, as they may reduce recruitment quotas to control labour costs.
On Jan 26, Henan province said large-scale job fairs planned for spring would be postponed.
Beijing ordered all job fairs to be suspended on Jan 31.
There are 8.34 million college graduates this year, up from 2.12 million in 2003 during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
Though some graduates received job offers in the latter part of 2019, there are still many who plan to get jobs in the spring semester.
Measures have been taken to ease the pressure. Five ministries, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Transport, jointly released a notice encouraging universities and companies to organise recruitment tests and interviews online to help college graduates get more information about the job market.
The time period of recruitment campaigns would be lengthened and employment services – for example, signing employment deals – will be open to students online, the notice said.
Zhaopin, an online recruitment agency in Beijing, said it was better for college graduates to take action as early as possible, such as sending out resumes online, to take advantage of written tests or interviews.