Chinese Graduates Face Tight Job Market as Economy Slows

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From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

China will have a record number of graduates moving into the job market this summer. Seven million people will finish their studies this year and begin to think about career. But China's economy is slowing down, chances for jobs are not good for many new graduates.

On a recent day, many job seekers were lined up at a hotel near some of Beijing's major schools, they were waiting to speak with recruiters about jobs with software, information technology and engineering companies.

One of the people at the job fair was An Tingting, a recent graduate from Henan province, she is 22-year-old. She came to Beijing recently to take an information technology training course.

"I have been looking for jobs the past two weeks and I think that it is indeed hard because I graduated from a vocational school, so the level of my education is pretty low. Also, I did not study software in college, I studied education, so it is more difficult for me to find an IT job."

New graduates also face competition from more than 200,000 students who graduated last year and are still looking for jobs.

Hu Xingdou is an economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology. He says only 30 percent of graduates can sign a contract and be employed immediately, he says the majority of students remain unemployed and looking for work.

And it's not just the number of graduates that is making the job search difficult. After ten years of high growth, China’s economy is slowing. Chinese leaders say they are struggling to keep growth at about seven percent a year.

But Hu Xingdou says the biggest problem is the structure of chinese industry. He says there are many places in China where graduate students are needed, but are not willing to go.

Back at the job fair, Xie Zhiyong says he already has a job, but he is looking for another because he does not like his current work environment. He says it is easy to find jobs if you have some experience. Xie studied bio-technology in Jiangxi province and graduated two years ago.

Recently, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on companies to give more opportunities to new graduates. In response, some private enterprises have announced increases in their hiring of new graduates.

Observers say the government could go even further by giving private companies tax incentives and funding. They say the government could also try to encourage new graduates to work in smaller cities away from the coast.

And that's the Education Report from VOA Learning English, I'm Bob Doughty.

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（来源：VOA 编辑：Julie）