The Japanese language major had passed the first round of interviews with two large Japan-funded enterprises offering monthly salaries of 1,800 and 2,200 yuan (US$217 and 265) respectively.

The job she accepted in the university's international culture exchange center will pay her 1,500 yuan (US$181) per month. Considering the welfare offered by the university, Chen said the payment of the three employers did not differ too much.

"The occupation of a teacher is far more stable than that of a 'white collar' worker", said Chen, adding that she was content with this job, since thirty percent more graduates will be looking for jobs this year than did the previous year.

Chen is one of 83,000 students who will graduate this July in the bustling Shanghai, a particularly high number due to the state policy of increased university recruits beginning four years ago.

The policy was hailed as a move to improve the national educational level, spur consumption and alleviate the employment burden at that time. However, now it seems to be adding pressure to today's graduates in securing jobs.

An army of some 60,000 would-be graduates swarmed to a job fair for university students late last year in Shanghai. And the coming test for civil servants attracted 27,000 applicants for the 2,500 posts.

Transnational enterprises, once major employers of graduates, failed to increase campus recruits to keep up with increased job seekers, especially those in the telecommunications and information technology industry.

Moreover, foreign financial institutions recently landed in Shanghai and in need of localization are more likely to take in experienced staff.

At the same time, booming domestic industries such as automobile and securities this year have decreased or even canceled their plan of employing new graduates. Sources with the Xingye Securities said they are considering laying off employees rather than taking in more.

Wang Xiping, director of Shanghai's university employment orientation center, said that though the city saw the number of graduates increase by 20 percent, the employment rate was 93 percent thanks to the efforts of the government, universities and employers.

Citing last year's figure, the director said the higher the graduates' degree, the more likely they are to get hired. Ninety-nine master's degree holders in Shanghai found employment and the figure for bachelor's degrees was 95 percent.

Wang promised that the government would continue its efforts to help these graduates to land jobs this year by establishing online job fairs and by training career counselors in universities.

An association for promoting university students' employment was established in Shanghai, said Wang, though she also admitted this year's work was even harder not only because of the largely increased number but also the imbalance of graduates from different majors.

In addition, she advised that graduates should lower their standards for employers and make their decisions after deliberation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2003)