According to the Chinese government , more than 12.22 million college graduates are set to enter the workforce in 2025. This is the highest number of new graduates ever.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the unemployment rate for young people (aged 16-24, excluding current students) fell from 16.5% in March to 14.2% in May. However, this figure is still nearly three times the urban average and higher than the same period last year.
Meanwhile, graduates, who have been excluded from unemployment figures since the rate hit 21.3% in June 2023, are facing separate and increasingly pronounced difficulties.
Uncertainty over trade relations with the US, although temporarily eased following a 90-day truce last month, continues to cast a shadow over key industries, especially manufacturing, one of the traditional sources of employment for new college graduates.
“Young people almost always suffer the most in labor market shocks,” said Christopher Beddor, an expert from global research firm Gavekal Dragonomics.
In response, the government and universities have rolled out a series of employment initiatives. The Ministryof Education launched a “100-day sprint” to expand employment opportunities, provide recruitment and job-finding subsidies, and develop short courses to help students improve their practical skills.
Several major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou, have rolled out financial subsidies of one to two thousand yuan for employers to hire new graduates. In Shanghai alone, state-owned enterprises are required to reserve at least 60 percent of their new jobs for graduates.
In addition, universities have also taken measures to lengthen their training programs. For example, the study time for English and Veterinary Medicine has been increased from 4 to 5 years, with the reason being “interdisciplinary training” and “compliance with national standards”.
In parallel, some master's and doctoral programs have also been extended by a year. Conversely, some fields such as architecture have shortened their training period, reflecting a sharp decrease in labor demand in the context of the real estate crisis.
Notably, while the labor market is largely bleak, the technology industry is thriving, with major corporations such as Tencent, Huawei and Baidu announcing large-scale recruitment campaigns.
Tencent has pledged to hire 28,000 graduates over three years, while Huawei will hire 10,000 students in areas such as AI, chip design, and software development. Baidu has also announced its largest ever recruitment campaign, primarily for AI-related positions.
However, even in this sector, opportunities remain limited and highly competitive, with not enough positions for all graduates. While governments and universities are looking to defer or retrain, the core issue, the imbalance between labor supply and demand, especially in traditional sectors, remains unresolved.
In the past, the Chinese government encouraged students to pursue graduate studies to delay their entry into the labor market. But now the “delay effect” has worn off, as many of them have now graduated, adding to the pressure on an already saturated labor market.
Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/hang-chuc-trieu-sinh-vien-tot-nghiep-la-thach-thuc-lon-cho-thi-truong-viec-lam-post737912.html
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