A view of a job fair for college students in an exhibition center in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on October 10, 2021 Photo: cnsphoto

The number of college graduates in China is estimated to hit 10.76 million in 2022, increasing 1.67 million from 2021 and reaching record highs in terms of the scale and increment, a Chinese official said on Tuesday, while stressing efforts to stabilize the jobs market.

However, Wang Hui, an official from the Ministry of Education, stressed at a press briefing that the employment market for college graduates in China in 2021 remains "overall stable" due to multiple efforts. 

In 2021, a record 9.09 million students graduated from Chinese universities and colleges, up 350,000 from 2020. 

Wang said that despite challenges, China has strong economic resilience and its long-term positive fundamentals will not change, so "the foundation for stabilizing the job market is solid."

But he noted that the difficulties of "finding jobs" and "hiring employees" both exist, indicating a complicated and tight job market for college graduates.

"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job market still lingers, with the production and operation of certain industries and enterprises yet to return to pre-virus levels. As a result, the ability of some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to provide job opportunities has dwindled, so demand for workers is uncertain," Wang said. 

Also, campus recruitment events are being disrupted by sporadic coronavirus outbreaks, making it hard to fundamentally address the structural problems in the job market, he added. 

The Ministry of Education is striving to ensure a stable job market for college graduates in 2022. 

The ministry is facilitating employment and self-employment for these students, collecting and issuing program guides of employers, and holding activities to connect the demands of SMEs with universities.

In the first 11 months, a total of 12.07 million new jobs were created in urban areas across China, surpassing the annual target of 11 million, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed in December.

Global Times