BEIJING // It was standing room only at the Talents Job Fair held recently in the Chinese capital.
Young men and women, some about to graduate, others with degrees, had to fight through a scrum of other job hopefuls to reach the stands of companies in fields as diverse as medicine, property and even karaoke television.
It was a stark reminder of the struggles facing graduates in the world's most populous country. According to many economists, the rapid expansion of China's higher education system means there are more people leaving China's universities than there are graduate-level jobs available to them.
This does not need to be explained to Winter Wang, who graduated in industrial automation three years ago from Xi'an Economic University in Shaanxi province in central China. He earns 1,500 yuan (Dh807) a month as an application engineer and so has to live far out from the city centre, renting a single room in a traditional house for 400 yuan a month.
Areas on Beijing's outskirts, which through their low rents have attracted struggling graduates, have been labelled as "ant colonies", with young people packed into buildings divided up into small rooms.
"I still cannot get suitable work," said Mr Wang, 28, who was at the job fair to find something better. "The situation is really tough; maybe I will go back to Xi'an. I went looking for a job in industrial automation, but the companies said I had no experience. It's a big problem."
The surplus of graduates partly stems from heavy increases in enrolment in higher education, introduced initially at a time of rising unemployment. In 1999, university enrolment jumped by 47 per cent in a single year to 1.6 million, and it continued to grow fast, reaching nearly five million in 2007. Last year, 6.1 million graduated from college, and the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, recently said in an online question-and-answer session that this year the number would reach a record 6.3 million.
Although factories have reported shortages of unskilled labour, there appears to be a shortage of graduate-level positions, even though official figures indicate that 87 per cent of last year's crop of university leavers found a job of some kind.
"China's college system is too big," said Andy Xie, the former chief Asia economist for Morgan Stanley, the investment bank. "At this stage of economic development, it's not possible to employ so many college graduates. In the 1980s, there were 300,000 each year; now there are six million. The economy has not risen that much."
Perhaps it is no wonder that some, such as Su Xiaolei, 24, who studied at an agricultural college in Hebei province, are glad simply to have any job at all. He works at a travel agency and with his wife rents a room in a dilapidated courtyard house in central Beijing for 700 yuan a month. A dead rat lies in the path leading to the courtyard, where makeshift stoves have been set up because space is tight.
"Several years ago the situation was much better. People could find a job quite easily," he said. "Conditions are not so good, but after we've saved enough money we will consider moving to a nicer place. I am just a migrant worker and this suits me best."
Jianmao Wang, a professor of economics at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, said subject choice was an important factor in employment prospects.
"We have continued to have more and more graduates for some years and there's a structural issue," he said. "Too many of them are in, for example, liberal arts and management, when what the country really needs is [graduates] in engineering. I think eventually the market will correct this."
Mr Xie said that to improve their prospects, young people should gain technical skills at vocational colleges instead of taking academic subjects. Otherwise, he said, they would have to take jobs not traditionally carried out by someone with a degree.
"The college graduates will not accept this because they think, 'why did I go to school for four years for this?'" he said.
Zhou Guanjun, who works in recruitment for a renewable energy company, Taimeixin, said graduates should temper their expectations and be prepared to start from a very low level .
"Maybe they should get some work experience instead," he said. "There are so many graduates hunting for jobs. The new graduates should not be too optimistic about the situation. Maybe the chance will come by for them to get a better job" later.
Staying positive can be difficult. Xiao Yao, 24, admitted that he had found the time since he graduated in computer science from a university in Liaoning province in the country's north-east hard going. He has a temporary job as a property agent.
"Morale has been hugely dampened," he said. "I was quite a good student back in school. The people who graduated in college have accumulated some esteem over the four years of study, but when they graduate it's so difficult. It makes you so discouraged. But I'm optimistic the situation will get better sooner or later."
@Email:dbardsley@thenational.ae
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.6-litre%2C%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E285hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E353Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh159%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
Sour%20Grapes
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZakaria%20Tamer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESyracuse%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E176%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
