New college graduates attend a job fair in Chengdu city, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on July 2, 2023. A total of 11,547 positions were offered by 405 employers at the fair, which attracted 11,170 job seekers, and more than 2,630 employment intentions were initially reached. Photo: VCG

 



China has stepped up efforts on stabilizing youth employment by implementing multiple measures including creating more job opportunities for students, China's education authorities said Thursday in response to high unemployment among college graduates.

China is expected to see a record 11.58 million new college graduates this year. The ministry will make all efforts to take actions to promote the employment such as initiating projects at a grassroots level and providing jobs for college graduates from impoverished families, Deng Chuanhuai, director of the department of policies and regulations at the Ministry of Education (MOE), said at the press briefing

The Chinese government is firmly committed to supporting employment among college students as a large number of talents are needed in the process of high-quality economic and social development. Based on the relevant data on July 2, the employment rate is 2-3 percentage points higher than that of the same period, Huai Jinpeng, minister of education, said at the press briefing.

Huai also put forth the idea that universities' teaching arrangement should constantly be adapted to the needs of the economic and social development. "It is very important to realize the effective match between the labor market and the talent supply of college students, which presents new requirements for the adjustment and layout of higher education structure and regional education."

China's surveyed unemployment rate among the 16-24 years age group hit a new high, standing at 20.8 percent in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on June 15.

A national campaign with measures including creating more jobs at the grassroots level to boost the employment of Chinese university graduates is being carried out from May to August, according to the Ministry of Education.

Different regions are also accelerating the pace to boost the job market. In March, Shanghai kicked off a spring recruitment campaign to promote employment for a record high of 236,000 college graduates this year in the city, with one of the largest in-person job fairs being held. 

Global Times