New Graduates Seek Jobs in Slowing Chinese Economy

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.China will have a record number of graduates moving into the job market this summer. Seven million people will finish their studies and begin building a career. But China's economy is slowing down. Chances for jobs for many new graduates are not good.To make things harder for current job seekers, more than 200,000 who graduated last year are still looking for jobs.Hu Xingdou, an economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology, said only 30 percent of graduates can be employed immediately. The economist said the majority of students remain unemployed and looking for work. And it is not just the number of graduates that is making the job search difficult. After years of strong growth, China's economy is slowing. Chinese leaders say they are struggling to keep growth about seven percent. But, Hu Xingdou says a big problem is the structure of Chinese industry. He says there are many places in China where graduate students are needed, but are not willing to go. Recently, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on companies to give more opportunities to new graduates. In response, some privately run enterprises have announced increases in their hiring of new graduates.Observers say the government could go even further by giving private companies tax incentives and funding to help make them more equal to state-owned enterprises. They also say the government could encourage new graduates to work in smaller cities away from China's coastal area by giving them payments or other benefits.For VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.