Returning Overseas Chinese graduates are grappling with securing employment . The labour market has placed graduates in a tough financial situation due to the low salary encounter. Chinese students who have obtained their undergraduate degrees abroad and now returned home, are experiencing a huge gap between expected income and actual income. This is evident in the unemployment rate for young people reaching 15.3% excluding students.
A survey reveals that undergraduate students received 7,928 (US$1,097) average salary, falling short by 2 700 yuan (US$374) thus leaving students in a tight spot financially. On the opposite end, graduate with a master’s degree generated an average monthly salary of 9,526 yuan (US$ 1334) however, this amount still falls short by approximately 2200 yuan (US$308). Returning graduates are experiencing a diminishing value of their foreign degrees which indicates China’s competitive job market.
Another survey revealed that many graduates earning salaries that are more than a third lower from what they were expecting. Francoise Huang, senior economist for the Asia -Pacific region at Allianz Trade says, “Youth unemployment is one of the reasons why we say the labour market has not normalised. We’re missing a few data points.” The Economist Intelligence Unit also mentioned in January that the unemployment rate will stay elevated this year with the high number of graduates still targeting lower skilled sectors.
The EIU added, “Despite the upturn in China’s labour market as a whole, the biggest improvements are concentrated in middle-aged groups and migrant workers,” In 2024, a record 11.79 million university students are anticipated to enter China’s labour market despite China’s economy not being fully recovered yet. According to the national bureau of statistics, the unemployment rate had reached a record high of 21.3% in June 2023. This was reinstated in December with a drop to 14.9% excluding students.
A survey conducted by the New Oriental Education reveals nearly 20% of participants expected a salary of more than 15000 yuan. However, not many bachelor’s degree holders managed to obtain this goal, only about 10% of
Master’s degree holders were able to obtain it successfully. This survey acknowledged the harsh reality faced by many students who expect higher salaries. Many Chinese families no longer send their children to study abroad as a luxury but as a necessity.
This makes studying abroad more normalised which reflects China’s rapid economic development and improvement in living standards. The past decade has shown a noticeable increase in the number of parents, particularly those with standard employment, who were considering taking the kids to study overseas. This proportion rose to 45% in 2022 but has since dropped to 39%. Economic uncertainties play a crucial role in this decision as families experience tighter budgets and are more cautious towards this approach.
However, higher income families are not affected by these economic challenges. The report shows Britain as the top choice for studying abroad, outshining the United States for the fifth consecutive year. This is a result of shorter one year master’s degree courses in the UK as opposed to two-year courses in the UK, which leads to lower living expenses and fast entry into the labour market.
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