After the number of Chinese college graduates exceeded 10 million for the first time in 2022, the number of Chinese college graduates is expected to hit a new high in 2023. Faced with the ever-increasing number of college graduates, what is the employment situation in China this year?

Hard-won employment “transcript”

According to the data, the number of college graduates in China is expected to reach 10.76 million in 2022, an increase of 1.67 million over 2021, and both the scale and number will hit a record high. In 2022, 12.06 million new jobs will be created in urban areas across the country, exceeding the expected target of 11 million at the beginning of the year.

In addition, according to the recent employment reports of graduates disclosed by many Chinese universities, the implementation rate of graduation destinations of college graduates in 2022 (referring to the proportion of the number of graduates for further study and employment in the total number of graduates) will remain stable, and the implementation rate of graduation destinations for many colleges and universities will remain stable. More than ninety percent.

“2022 is an extraordinary year. China’s macro economy has encountered multiple shocks. It is not easy to exceed the employment target.” Chen Jianwei, an associate researcher at the National Institute of Opening and Opening, University of International Business and Economics, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency.
Chen Jianwei pointed out that from a global perspective, the Federal Reserve’s unexpected interest rate hike has led to turmoil in the global capital market and the return of capital to the United States. European and American countries have fallen into stagflation. China’s development is facing shrinking external market demand and rising uncertainty, and the ability of external demand to stimulate employment has declined. . From the perspective of domestic development, changes in the epidemic situation have disrupted the macro economy, and the demand for the service industry has weakened, which has inhibited the ability of the service industry to stimulate employment to a certain extent.

In the face of internal and external challenges, China has introduced a series of powerful measures to stabilize employment, focusing on the employment of key groups such as college graduates, making every effort to stabilize the overall employment situation, and guarding the bottom line of preventing large-scale unemployment.

From the perspective of the whole year of 2022, China’s overall unemployment rate remains basically stable, especially as the economic stabilization package and subsequent policies have taken effect, the employment situation has improved recently. In December, the national surveyed urban unemployment rate was 5.5%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from November.

The scale of college graduates will hit a new high

The Central Economic Work Conference held at the end of last year emphasized that it is necessary to implement the detailed employment priority policy and put the employment promotion of young people, especially college graduates, in a more prominent position.

Emphasize that there are important practical considerations for the employment of college graduates. Official sources recently revealed that the number of college graduates in China will exceed 11.5 million in 2023, and employment is facing dual challenges of high pressure on total employment and prominent structural contradictions.

In Chen Jianwei’s view, the current structural contradictions in the employment of college graduates are mainly reflected in:

The contradiction between short-term supply and demand timing mismatch. The graduation time of college graduates is concentrated, and the group of short-term job seekers in the market is also relatively large. The creation of job opportunities needs the support of economic development, and there is a time lag, so there is a short-term shortage of jobs.

There is a contradiction between the rapid changes in the demand structure of the labor market and the slow adjustment of the supply structure. The transformation of economic structure promotes rapid changes in the skill structure of the market’s demand for graduates, and the professional structure and training level of college graduates do not directly depend on market demand, so there will be uneven market demand for graduates of different majors.

The job-seeking expectations of college graduates (including expectations for industries, regions, and wages) are relatively stable, and are less adjusted by economic development and changes in the labor market situation. Therefore, it is difficult for some graduates to find suitable jobs in the short term.

In response to the above situation, Chen Jianwei believes that economic recovery and growth should be used to ease the employment pressure of college graduates. At the same time, it is necessary to improve the adaptability of higher education to economic development and industrial structural transformation, enhance the employability of college graduates, and especially improve the digital skills of college students to adapt to the future transformation of the labor market.

The employment situation is expected to improve overall

In 2023, China’s economy will improve as a whole, which is expected to create a good environment for the employment of college graduates and ease China’s employment pressure.

“Judging from the information released by the local two sessions at the beginning of this year, the economic growth targets set by many provinces are generally maintained at around 5%, which shows the determination of the localities to develop the economy stably, which is a great boon for employment this year.” Chen Jianwei Say.

Kang Yi, director of China’s National Bureau of Statistics, also pointed out at a recent press conference that as China’s economy improves and employment demand expands, jobs will increase accordingly. China’s employment situation is expected to improve overall this year.

First, with the gradual implementation of optimized measures for epidemic prevention and control, the order of production and life will gradually return to normal, and the production and operation of enterprises will gradually improve, which will drive the gradual recovery and expansion of labor demand.

Second, the increase in transportation, logistics, and residents’ travel will drive the recovery of service industries such as accommodation, catering, and tourism. The service industry has a large employment capacity, and the recovery and improvement of the contact-aggregated service industry is conducive to absorbing more employment.

Third, all regions and departments continue to strengthen the employment priority policy, implement in-depth measures to reduce burdens, stabilize jobs and expand employment, and increase employment assistance for key groups, including college graduates, will also provide a strong guarantee for employment stability.

Fourth, the rapid development of new growth drivers will continue to create more new jobs, which will become an important driving force for expanding employment and improving the quality of employment.

• based on a report in The Paper