Where Did All Those Chinese University Graduates Go?

"Stability First"... 45% Prefer State-Owned Enterprises
Some Pursue Further Studies... 4.74 Million Graduate Students This Year

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] The three-year-long COVID-19 pandemic in China has brought a cold wave to the job market. Last year, the number of university graduates in China was 10.76 million. Now that the autumn recruitment season has ended, where have all the Chinese 'daesulja' (university graduates) gone?

The Chinese economic media Caixin recently analyzed the Ministry of Education's announcements and employment status reports released by various universities to report on the employment situation and prospects of graduates. The media explained, "Facing unemployment pressure, new graduates are seeking 'stability,'" adding, "The number of students heading to graduate school after graduation is rapidly increasing."

Last year, the number of graduate school entrance exam candidates exceeded 4 million, an increase of 800,000 compared to 2020. According to the 2023 National Graduate Enrollment Survey Report, the number of candidates for this year's graduate entrance exam is expected to reach 4.74 million.

Graduates showed a higher preference for stable jobs where they could work for a long time rather than jobs with high labor intensity. According to the '2022 University Student Employment Possibility Survey Report' released by China's internet job search site Zhaopin, state-owned enterprises accounted for the highest proportion at 44.4% among the types of companies where university graduates wanted to work last year. This is higher than the preference of 42.5% shown in the 2021 survey, while the proportion of those hoping to work in private companies decreased from 19% to 17.4% during the same period.

Within China, there is also a flexible social perception change regarding employment. According to the Ministry of Education's notice, since 2021, China has used the 'graduation destination implementation rate' instead of the 'employment rate' as an indicator for graduate surveys. The term 'destination' here includes employment at general companies, entrepreneurship, and further studies for additional education. Furthermore, occupations that were not clearly considered employment in the past, such as writers, freelance writers, translators, and intermediary service workers, have begun to be recognized as 'flexible employment.' According to data from the National Higher Education Student Information Counseling and Employment Guidance Center, the recruitment rate in the flexible employment sector for Chinese university graduates was 16.9% and 16.3% of the total in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

China's official unemployment rate is in the 5% range, but as of September last year, the youth unemployment rate for ages 16 to 24 was 17.9%, more than three times the overall average. Even big tech companies, which actively hired talent during their growth phase, are undergoing restructuring due to business downturns, worsening the situation. Tencent laid off more than 7,300 employees in the second and third quarters of this year, and Alibaba also dismissed about 13,000 employees in the first half of the year alone.