China's new college graduates are encountering an unprecedented job market crisis, with fewer than half having secured informal employment by mid-April this year, as reported by Nikkei Asia, citing data from the human resources company Zhaopin. Nikkei Asia indicated that only 48% of prospective graduates received job offers, marking a 2.4 percentage point decrease from the previous year. With just two months remaining until graduation, more than half of job-seeking college graduates are still unemployed, a significant decline compared to previous years.
Before 2019, approximately 75% of new graduates received informal job offers. However, according to Nikkei Asia, this rate dropped below 50% in the spring of 2022 amid Shanghai's government lockdown to control the coronavirus. Private-sector companies in tech, real estate, and cram schools, which were once major employers of young graduates, have significantly reduced hiring due to regulatory crackdowns intended to curb market bubbles.
Additionally, other industries are downsizing—SAIC Motor, in collaboration with Volkswagen and General Motors, cut approximately 9,000 jobs between 2019 and 2023, with Dongfeng Motor shedding around 2,600 workers during the same period. Student interest in private-sector jobs is waning, with just 13% now favoring private companies, a sharp decline from 25% in 2020, as per Zhaopin. Widespread restructuring in tech and other sectors has fueled concerns about job security.
Conversely, state-owned enterprises are becoming more attractive to job-seeking students, with preference increasing to 48%. More students are now aiming for civil service roles, with 77 candidates vying for each available position in 2024. The Chinese Ministry of Education reported a record 11.79 million new graduates for the summer of 2024, an increase of 210,000 from the previous year.
