Job seekers crowd a job fair in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Dec. 14, 2008. A job fair kicked off here on Sunday with over 10,000 jobs vacancies provided by more than 300 enterprises. [File photo: Xinhua]

A press conference held in Beijing yesterday to preview the 2009 edition of the China Society Blue Book heard that around 1.5 million graduates will be jobless by the end of 2008, and the graduate unemployment rate will exceed 12 percent.

Job market expert Chen Guangjin said the growth in graduate numbers, up from 4.13 million in 2006 to 6.11 million in 2009, and the financial crisis, were the main reasons for the grim employment situation.

Accountancy, English, Law, Business Administration and Information Technology are the most popular majors; 90 percent of graduates in these subjects find work within six months. Graduates in the arts, life sciences, medicine, biology, and agriculture are least likely to find a job.

Li Peilin, the main speaker at the conference, said that employment rates varied between colleges. China's elite Program 211 universities have the highest employment rate after 6 months at 88 percent; rates for non-Program 211 universities, and further education colleges are 59 percent and 43 percent respectively.

Graduates of colleges specializing in foreign languages and foreign trade generally find it easier to find employment. Among the top ten most profitable majors, three are minor foreign languages and three are information technology-related. French majors get the highest salaries, 4,783 yuan per month on average, twice the overall average, while graduates in less popular majors are paid as little as 1,500 to 1,900 yuan per month.

(China.org.cn by Fan Junmei, December 16, 2008)