Mainland Chinese newspaper The Paper reported that there were 7,441 graduates from the country’s prestigious Tsinghua University class of 2021, a slight increase of more than 400 over the class of 2020. 3,669 of them signed a “tripartite employment agreement.” The tripartite employment agreement refers to the agreement signed by graduates, employers and schools to guarantee the rights and obligations of the student. Among those, 15.8 percent secured their first jobs in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and in government organizations, 30.3 percent found jobs in institutions such as universities and research units, and 23.8 percent in state-owned enterprises. In short, a total of nearly 70 percent entered the state related sector.
In comparison, in year 2019 and 2020 respectively 61.2 percent and 64.9 percent of Tsinghua graduates found their jobs in the state sector. The proportion in 2021 is not only higher, but also growing at an accelerated pace.
As a matter of fact, the high percentage of graduates from China’s top universities looking for government related jobs is no small number. For example, 50.05 percent of graduates from Shanghai Jiaotong University entered CCP and government organs, institutions, state-owned enterprises and the military, while the percentage from Xiamen University graduates was nearly 60 percent.
As the economy slows down, new graduates prefer the state sector, so they have stable jobs. This is a manifestation of people’s assessment on their prospects for the near future. According to China’s Ministry of Education, there will be 9.09 million college graduates in 2021, a year-over-year increase of 350,000, and another 10.76 million college graduates in 2022, an increase of 1.67 million. Tackling unemployment is a major challenge for the Chinese government.
Source: The Paper, January 3, 2022
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