A Diploma for

Nothing
A Look into the Reported Unemployment Problem
for Recent Chinese University Graduates

Travis Sherwood
May 31, 2011
Principia College
China Abroad 2011
Professor Williams

Sherwood 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction..............................................................................................
..............................3
II.
Literature
Review.........................................................................................................
..........4
A. Chinas 2004 Official Stance on Youth Unemployment......................................................4
B. EAI Report on Chinese Youth Unemployment....................................................................5
C. 2010 Chinese News Reports................................................................................................7
D. Kazakhstans Reports on Unemployment............................................................................8
III.
Methodology.............................................................................................
..............................9
A. Experience in China.............................................................................................................9
B. Collecting Quantitative Data in China...............................................................................10
C. Collecting Qualitative Data in China.................................................................................12
D. Methodologies Used in Kazakhstan...................................................................................13
IV.
Data.........................................................................................................
..............................14
A. Quantitative Data from China: Surveys.............................................................................15
B. Qualitative Data from China: Interviews...........................................................................17
C. Data Collected From Kazakhstan......................................................................................18
V.
Data
Analysis.......................................................................................................
.................20
A. Chinas Quantitative Data Analysis...................................................................................20
B. Chinas Qualitative Data Analysis.....................................................................................22
C. Kazakhstan Data Analysis..................................................................................................24
VI.
Conclusion................................................................................................
.............................25
VII.
Work
Cited............................................................................................................
................28
I.

VIII.

Appendix.....................................................................................................
........................29
A. Sample Survey...................................................................................................................29
B. Pie Charts from BJUT Surveys..........................................................................................30
C. Bar Charts..........................................................................................................................33
D. Table of BJUT Surveys......................................................................................................35
E. List of Interview Questions................................................................................................36

Sherwood 3
F. Interviews in China............................................................................................................36
G. Interviews in Kazakhstan...................................................................................................42

Sherwood 4

Introduction
One quarter of all Chinese university students will fail to find a job upon graduation,
according to Forbes magazine.1 A possible reason advocated behind this high unemployment
rate for university graduates in China is because of some of the higher education reforms,
particularly the governments decision to expand tertiary enrollment by nearly 50% in 1999.2
With so many students attending universities throughout China, the job market has reportedly
become extremely competitive. This research compares the career opportunities for Chinese
university graduates with university students from Kazakhstan. The research question that I will
be confronting is whether or not the reported unemployment problems for university graduates
are true, and if so why has unemployment for recent college graduates started to become such a
problem.
The research project will include a literature review summarizing what is already known
about the topic, the methodologies that were used in the project, data collected from both China
and Kazakhstan, an analysis of the data, and final conclusions. This specific report will be
unique in that it will include interviews and draw data from Chinese university students in
Beijing and university students studying in Kazakhstan. No other reports have directly studied
the problem from the perspective of both the Chinese and Kazakh students. The research project
is key in understanding changing dynamics for Asian, specifically Chinese with a comparison of
Kazakh, students when entering the job market.

Literature Review
1 Shaun Rein, Chinas Surprising Unemployment Problem, Forbes, September 7, 2010.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/07/china-economy-unemployment-leadership-managing-rein_2.html.
2 Zhao Litao and Huang Yanjie, Unemployment of Chinas Youth, EAI Background Brief No. 523, April
28, 2010. http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/BB523.pdf.

Sherwood 5

The problem with unemployment for university graduates in China is relatively recent.
China first realized this problem of graduate unemployment in 2003 when all of the students who
enrolled in 1999, due to a government initiative to stimulate tertiary education growth,
graduated. 2003 saw as many as 750,000 graduates unable to find jobs, 1.2 million in 2005, and
almost 2 million in 2009.3 On the contrary, the reports about unemployment in Kazakhstan have
been relatively good with the unemployment rate dropping annually. Because this issue is so
new, most of the literature consists of news reports, journal articles, and a few longer essays.
Chinas 2004 Official Stance on Youth Unemployment
One of the first official documents which explicitly covers the topic of Chinese graduate
unemployment was presented by the Chinese Department of International Cooperation Ministry
of Labor and Social Security in 2004 and is entitled Youth Employment in China. The report
addresses the overall issue of youth unemployment in China, and it specifically examines
unemployment rates of Chinese students who obtained a university degree. According to the
Ministrys report, In the past 5 years in China, while the university enrollment has been on the
rise by double digit rates, the employment rate has been decreasing.4 This data was disclosed in
2004, and since then, the pattern of an increasing university student population has continued
into present day. It is important to note that China has shifted away from its original practice
under the planned economic model of guaranteeing and placing people into jobs [and] . . . is
gradually moving towards market-oriented approach.5 The market-oriented approach allows for
more competition between applicants. Now that so many young Chinese are obtaining university
degrees, the competition is cutthroat leaving many jobless. These students who have graduated
3

Litao and Yanjie. Unemployment of Chinas Youth. p. 2.

4 Ya-li. Youth Unemployment in China. p. 3.

5 Ya-li. Youth Unemployment in China. p.5.

Sherwood 6

from universities are also weary of accepting low paying jobs because they have witnessed the
success of the past generation who utilized the education system to climb economic and social
ladders. In 2004, China asserted that to aid the employment of university graduates it has made
efforts in widening employment channels, bridging the job demand and supply, strengthening
vocational guidance, and providing employment and social security services.6 A five-point plan
was created to guarantee the success of these efforts. It included: 1. encouraging graduates to go
to the less developed localities to work, 2. pushing enterprises and public institutions to recruit
university graduates, 3. prompting graduates to become self-employed, 4. improving
employment guidance and service, and 5. initiating a High School Graduate Vocational Skill
Training Program.7 It appears that these measures have not effectively stopped the graduate
unemployment problem because there are reportedly an increasing number of university
graduates unable to secure jobs in todays market.

EAI Report on Chinese Youth Unemployment

A more recent report produced by the East Asian Institute in 2010 entitled
Unemployment Problem of Chinas Youth also addresses the inability for many educated
Chinese to secure jobs. The 2010 EAI background brief parallels the 2004 report because it
highlights the high competition that accompanies finding a job. In Chinas present labor market,
college graduates must compete with 6 million other fellow graduates for desirable jobs that are
concentrated in a few large cities.8 According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social
Security, China produced 6.1 million graduates in 2009, in which 87% found jobs. This results
in nearly 2 million university educated Chinese unemployed. The 2010 EAI background brief
6 Ibid., p.8.
7 Ibid,. p.8.
8 Litao and Yanjie. Unemployment of Chinas Youth. p.i.

Sherwood 7

also states, In todays labor market, the unemployment issue among the young generation is
dominated by structural unemployment, mostly resulting from a mismatch between the condition
and nature of jobs and the skills and expectations of the young generation.9 This is a criticism
of the tertiary education system in China.
The EAI background brief defends its argument that the tertiary education system in
China is lacking by asserting that Chinas higher education institutions are not as responsive as
they should to the changing demand of the labor market. Instead, they strive to become as large
and comprehensive as possible, leading to a lack of functional differentiation and a failure to
provide a mix of skills to Chinas increasingly complex economy.10 The quality of teaching in
universities suffered as a result of all this tertiary enrollment expansion. Finding enough
qualified professors to teach the surge of students enrolling in tertiary education is difficult.
Another problem that the oversupply of college graduates has created is the decline of average
wage levels.11 This is a major problem because university graduates are unable to pay all the
expenses of living in a city, such as Beijing or Hong Kong, without a decent income.
Despite the fact that many graduates are having trouble finding jobs, those who graduate
from Chinas top universities are the ones most successful in acquiring those decent paying
jobs.12 As a result, there has become a stratification between high level and low level
universities. The students who attend universities that are not as prominent as Chinas top
schools find it much harder to secure a job over those who attended more prestigious
universities.

9 Ibid., p.1.
10 Ibid., p.ii.
11 Ibid,. p.2.
12 Litao and Yanjie. Unemployment of Chinas Youth. p. 2.

Sherwood 8

2010 Chinese New Reports

A news article from Forbes written by Shaun Rein does a good job of explaining the most
pressing concerns with the recent unemployment problem for graduates in China. Rein
references a Business-week article when he states that 25 percent of the 2010 Chinese graduates
have failed to find a job.13 The problems that Rein discusses fall in line with both the 2004 report
from the Ministry and the 2010 EAI background brief. He writes about the problems with the
tertiary education system such as classes being too big, teachers teaching by rote, and students
failing to receive an interdisciplinary liberal arts education.14 In his article, Rein proposes that a
change needs to take place in the Chinese education system. Because there are now over 6
million Chinese graduates annually, the students must become more qualified for the labor
market they will be entering. Rein notes that the problem is not dire yet, but it will be when
more graduates hit the labor pool.15
The areas that this research will concentrate in the hopes of contributing to the existing
reports will be whether or not university student are feeling the pressure of unemployment and
what they think of the reported problems. One of the focuses will consist of evaluating how
aware these students, currently in the tertiary education system, are of the possible difficulties
that await them after graduation. Determining if these students have plans that will keep them
from becoming one of those unemployed Chinese youths, is one of the key objectives in this
research.

Kazakhstans Reports on Unemployment

13 Rein, Chinas Surprising Unemployment Problem. Forbes, September 7, 2010.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.

Sherwood 9

Evaluating the ideas about employment after graduation among Kazakh university
students is also an objective of this research project. The comparison between Kazakhstan and
China will help to realize whether the problem of unemployment for graduates is a unique issue
for either country or if it is a problem affecting more than one Asian country.
The most recent news reports in Kazakhstan regarding unemployment are fairly positive.
According to the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan the unemployment rate was
last reported at 5.5 percent in 2011.16 This is relatively low and the rate has continued to fall
since 2009. A chart denoting the fall in the unemployment rate can be found in the appendix.
There have not been reports that have specifically noted a problem with unemployment
for Kazakh university graduates. Because of this, the primary goal of my research in Kazakhstan
will be to figure out whether or not university students feel they will have difficulties finding
employment after graduation and for what reasons.

Methodology
In order to conduct the research necessary to find out if unemployment among recent
Chinese university graduates is a problem, I used a variety of methodologies to collect data, both
quantitative and qualitative. These methods for collecting data were necessary in order to
legitimize whether there is a problem of unemployment among university graduates in China.
The only way that I could collect this data was to actually be in China among current university
students. Another part of the research dealt with the ability for Kazakh university graduates to
find employment after graduation which was used as a comparing measure for the situation in

16 Bar Chart 2.2: Appendix pg. 34

Sherwood 10

China. The following will describe the methods used and the steps I took to ensure the most
constructive research would be accomplished.
Experience in China
I will first describe my experience in China, a majority of the time which was spent in
Beijing. In order to conduct research relating to the unemployment problem for recent Chinese
university graduates, it was important to be close to a university setting to have access to current
university students about to embark on their job searches. Understanding whether these current
university students knew the challenges being reported within Chinas job market would help to
determine if they had any strategies to avoid being in that percentage without jobs. I studied at
the Beijing University of Technology (BJUT) located in the Southeast of Beijing. BJUT is a
university made up of 25,000 Chinese students. They have a wide variety of majors and also
many international students. I enrolled in a Mandarin class lasting three hours each day. BJUT
has a large campus made up of academic buildings, student dormitories, and recreational
buildings. For the duration of my time in Beijing I stayed in the international dormitory on the
BJUT campus adjacent to the student dormitories. Emphasizing that I do not speak fluent
Mandarin, I was still able to use Mandarin in my daily activities which included asking
directions, ordering meals, and buying goods. In order to get around Beijing, I took advantage of
the public transportation that is made available which includes the multiple bus lines and the
metro system that allows one to travel all around Beijing.
I was also able to travel outside of Beijing. The cities and provinces that I was able to
visit were Shanghai, Shanxi province, Xian. Urumpqi, and Turpan. Most of these excursions
away from Beijing were achieved by traveling on overnight trains. On each of these trips away
from Beijing, I was able to experience different aspects of Chinese life.

Sherwood 11

Collecting the data to make the research and analysis possible was an important measure
in Beijing. Before traveling to China, I was hoping to collect both quantitative and qualitative
data. The methods that I chose to gather these two types of data were through surveys and
formal interviews.

Collecting Quantitative Data in China

The survey that was formed was aimed specifically towards current university students.
The survey consists of ten questions; the first three requested personal information associated
with the participant, and the remaining seven asked evaluative questions in which the participant
would judge how true or not true was the statement.
Each question on the survey had a specific objective that ultimately aided in
understanding whether or not the reported unemployment problem for recent Chinese graduates
is accurate. The first question simply asked for the gender of the person taking the survey. This
was included to understand whether there was any variation in the answers between males and
females about graduate unemployment. The second question asked which year of university the
student taking the survey was in. There was speculation that the students in their third and fourth
years of university might possibly answer differently than those students just entering university.
The third question of the survey asked where the participant was from. A factor that could
differentiate the responses dealing with unemployment for university graduates might be
location. I was specifically interested to see if students from Beijing would be less worried about
finding a job after graduation.
The remaining questions were aimed at understanding what the opinions were about
unemployment in China, especially university graduate unemployment. The heading above these

Sherwood 12

questions stated to Rate the following questions as 1 being Not True and 5 being Very True.
The fourth question contained the statement Unemployment is a problem in China. The
purpose of this evaluative question is to discern whether or not these students recognize an
unemployment problem in China as a whole. The fifth question stated Finding a job in Beijing
is hard. This question was included to assess if the students taking the survey think jobs are
scarce in Beijing. The sixth question states Finding a good job in Beijing is hard. The
statement is very similar to the statement in the fifth question, but it was used to determine if
university students are considering the availability of good jobs when discussing an
unemployment problem in Beijing. The seventh question states It is harder now for university
graduates to find jobs than it was before. The evaluations of the statement could determine
whether or not students are seeing that the value of a university education is depreciating as some
articles have reported. The eighth question of the survey states There is a lot of competition
when searching for a job in China. It is was important to understand how current university
students were perceiving the job market in order to assess if they were preparing themselves for a
competitive job search. The ninth question stated The best jobs in China are in big cities.
Many of the reports dealing with unemployment of recent university graduates in China
discussed the large population in cities creating a very competitive job market. The question
aides in determining if students believe that a job in the city is the most desirable type of job in
China, rather than a job in a less densely populated area of China. The tenth and final question
stated University education in China prepares you for when you start working. This statement
was included because there have been a few articles somewhat blaming the quality of education
at Chinese universities for the unemployment problems of recent Chinese graduates. The
questions helps to determine what current students think about the education they are receiving

Sherwood 13

and whether or not they think they will be prepared for the working world after graduation.
These statements that the participants evaluated provided valuable information for analyzing if
and why there is a problem with university graduate unemployment in China.
Collecting Qualitative Data in China
An important element to conduct successful research about the possible problem of
university graduate unemployment in China was collecting qualitative data, which was achieved
by conducting formal interviews. These formal interviews were mainly conducted at preplanned
meetings with the members of the English Association at BJUT. There were three different
scheduled meetings. I also interviewed a national tour guide from Beijing. These interviews
were recorded and can be found in the appendix. In order to conduct successful interviews with
the various people I met with, I came prepared with a set of questions about unemployment in
China. The list of questions can be found in the appendix.17 The topics that the questions
covered included future plans after graduation, the competitiveness of the job market in China,
and examples of friends who were having trouble acquiring jobs after graduation. I did not
always ask every single question but instead allowed the conversation to expand organically. I
was careful not to provide information that would influence the subjects responses. This
qualitative information provided a deeper look into what Chinese students were thinking about
their employment futures.
Methodologies Used in Kazakhstan
In order to realize the potential problem of unemployment for Chinese university
students, collecting data in a bordering country, Kazakhstan, was useful in establishing a clearer
view of the employment situation in Asia.
17 List of Interview Questions: Appendix pg. 36

Sherwood 14

As in China, it was again important to spend time in Kazakhstan in order to understand

the factors that would effect the employment opportunities of the the university students in
Kazakhstan. I was able to reside in Kazakhstan for two weeks. The majority of this time was in
Almaty, the previous capital of Kazakhstan, at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management
Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP) which can be considered one of the most
prestigious universities in Kazakhstan catering to English speaking students from Kazakhstan
and abroad. The majority of the professors are from English speaking countries such as the
United States or the United Kingdom, therefore the classes are taught in English. There are
roughly four thousand students which attend KIMEP, and most of them are from Almaty. While
at KIMEP, I stayed in the international dormitory on campus where students that were not from
Almaty took residence. Students from many different countries choose to attend KIMEP for the
experience of studying in Central Asia. I was also able to travel to Astana, the current capital of
Kazakhstan, and Karaganda, a more rural area of Kazakhstan. While in Karaganda, I was able to
attend a lecture at Karaganda State University on Kazakh history.
The languages spoken in Kazakhstan are Kazakh and Russian. Before traveling to China
and Kazakhstan, I completed an introductory Russian language course. This allowed me to
obtain the basics for interacting with students in Kazakhstan. I am by no means fluent in
Russian, therefore all of my data collection was directed toward students who could speak
English.
The method that was primarily used while in Kazakhstan was qualitative data collection
through formal and informal interviews. The interviews were conducted using the same
questions that were used in the interviews for Chinese university students. It was important to
recognize if the thoughts about employment after graduation were similar or dissimilar between

Sherwood 15

Kazakhstan and China. Because the time spent in Kazakhstan was much less than the amount of
time in China, the amount of data collected reflects this short period in Kazakhstan.

Data
The following section will report the data that was collected over the ten week period in
both China and Kazakhstan. The data is both quantitative and qualitative and is represented with
surveys and interviews respectively. The data is accompanied by a table and charts in order to
gain a clearer perspective of the questions asked in the surveys and the opinions of the students
who were surveyed.
Quantitative Data from China: Surveys
The surveys administered in China were significant in gaining legitimate data that would
give insight into the thoughts about employment from soon to be graduates. A convenient
sample which consisted of members from the Beijing University of Technology English
Association was utilized when distributing the surveys. There were twenty responses to the
survey which make up a very small sample of the population of the BJUT campus. The surveys
were administered electronically through email to the the members of the BJUT English
Association. Confidentiality was promised to those who responded to the survey. A sample
survey can be found in the appendix.18 In this section, the data collected from the surveys will
simply be reported.
To gain a better sense of what the quantitative data expressed, graphing the data was
important. Charts were created for the survey questions that related to the reported Chinese

18 Sample Survey: Appendix pg. 29

Sherwood 16

university graduate unemployment problem.19 These charts were based according to the
responses from the students. There is also a master table, Table 1, which outlines the responses
of the surveys directly.20 Table 1 includes information such as mean, median, mode, and standard
deviation of the responses. It also lists the gender, grade level, and hometown of the
respondents.
A key in understanding the unemployment perspective from Chinese university students
was by measuring what the majority of the students noted in relation to the statements rated on a
scale from Not True to Very True. The follow section reports what the charts report:
Chart 1.1 reports the students responses to the statement Unemployment is a Problem in
China. The majority, fifty percent, of the respondents marked this statement as Very True.
Chart 1.2 shows what the students thought about the statement Finding a good job in
Beijing is hard. Fifty percent of the students marked this as a 3 or In-between not true and
very true, on a scale from one to five.
Chart 1.3 includes the statement Finding a good job in Beijing is hard. 33% marked
this statement as being More True than False. 29% said this statement was Very True.
Chart 1.4 measures the statement It is harder now for university graduates to find jobs
than it was before. Fifty percent of the responses said Very True.
Chart 1.5 shows the responses to the statement There is a lot of competition when
searching for a job in China. 53% marked this as a 4 or More True than False.
Chart 1.6 represents the responses to the statement The best jobs in China are in big
cities. 26% marked this as a 4, and another 26% marked this as a 3 on a scale of one to five.

19 Pie Charts from BJUT Survey: Appendix pg. 30

20 Table of BJUT Surveys: Appendix pg. 35

Sherwood 17

Chart 1.7 shows the responses to the statement University education in China prepares
you for when you start working. 35% marked this as a 2, and 30% marked this a 3 on a scale
from one to five.

Qualitative Data from China: Interviews

The qualitative data collected in China came through formal and informal interviews.
The interviews, which are attached at the end of this paper in the appendix21, were transcribed
and then read through to find common themes between the many responses received about the
employment situation for Chinese university graduates. Some of the themes that arose included
the difference between good and bad jobs, the ranking within the Chinese university system, the
heavy amount of graduate students applying for jobs at the same time, and the benefits of having
connections when seeking employment.
Many of the students that I interviewed differentiated between the quality of jobs that are
available for graduates after they complete their education. They made remarks such as finding
a job in Beijing is easy and low quality jobs are very easy to get in Beijing.22 The abundance
of low quality jobs does effect the unemployment rate in China. These university students were
not necessarily worried about finding any job in Beijing, but they were more concerned with
finding the right job. When asked if it was difficult to find a good job in Beijing one student
responded, finding a dream job which applies to your major and which also has a high salary is
very difficult.23
21 Interviews in China: Appendix pg. 36
22 Interviews in China: Appendix pg. 38
23 Interviews in China: Appendix pg. 38

Sherwood 18

Another theme that was prevalent in many of the interviews was that employers will
consider which university a prospective employee attended before hiring them. The best
universities such as Peking University have top priority, and the graduates that complete their
education there will have the better advantage in acquiring those quality jobs with high salaries.
The data from the interviews showed that the university in which graduates attend does in fact
effect their employment options.
The people that I interviewed were also very aware of the high amount of students
graduating from Chinese universities at the same time. All of these students searching for jobs at
the same exact time make the job market very competitive. This information corresponds with
the 2010 EAI Report on Chinese Youth Unemployment which highlights the fact that there are
too many job seekers and not enough jobs to fulfill this need.
Another theme that arose during the interviews was the benefit of having connections
when searching for employment. Many of the students said that if you had a connection in the
field of work that you wished to join, you would definitely have an advantage over those
prospective employees who do not have that connection. The interviews also evidenced that
those students who resided in Beijing and planned to work in Beijing after graduation were not
as concerned with the unemployment problem as those student who were from a different part of
China and studying in Beijing. The reason behind this is that the students who are from Beijing
are able to live with their families and concentrate completely on finding the right job. The
students from other areas of China must worry about where they will stay after graduation, and
they do not have the option of spending too long without an income.
Data Collected From Kazakhstan

Sherwood 19

The data collected from Kazakhstan primarily came from formal and informal interviews
that are transcribed and attached in the appendix. There were several themes that became
apparent in these interviews about Kazakh unemployment. They included such topics as the
development of the country, the value of a university degree, and opportunities available in
cities.
The development of Kazakhstan was a subject that arose in each of the interviews I
conducted. Because Kazakhstan is a country that is developing, evidenced by its brand new
capital of Astana, there are many employment opportunities being created each year. Kazakhstan
is also developing its country with the help of its natural resources. Kazakhstans oil reserves
allow it to develop factories and businesses that relate to its oil production. The country is only
about twenty years young and has much more room for development.
The value of a university degree was also discussed in the interviews. A university
degree is still an implication of the knowledge of the prospective employee. Higher education
grants more opportunities for finding better jobs. The students who acquire a degree beyond a
bachelors degree will have little trouble finding employment in Kazakhstan. Many students see
a university education as a key to finding better employment.
In the interviews it became apparent that many graduates see the cities as having the
more desirable jobs as opposed to the more rural parts of Kazakhstan. One interviewee noted the
six cities that offer the highest amount of employment for graduates, and she specified the
reasons of why each city was a place to acquire employment.24 The cities are much more
developed than the rural areas of Kazakhstan and offer graduates much more opportunities.
The qualitative data collected in Kazakhstan is useful in understanding the employment
future for Kazakh students graduating from university in the near future.
24 Interviews in Kazakhstan: Appendix pg. 44

Sherwood 20

Data Analysis
Chinas Quantitative Data Analysis
Analyzing the data gathered from the surveys is helpful in understanding the employment
situation in China from the perspective of university students.
Question 4 on the survey which makes the statement Unemployment is a problem in
China is interesting if you see Table 1.1; this statement has the highest rate of standard
deviation. The responses to this question has the highest amount of deviation out of the list of
statements. It is interesting to see this result when the current unemployment rate in China is
4.1% which is relatively low compared with other countries like the United States. A rationale
behind the variation of answers to this question could be the same reason that reports about the
unemployment rate in China are good, but reports about university graduates seeking
employment are negative. The possible reason that the majority, fifty percent, of the students
who responded to the survey deemed unemployment as a problem in China is because they may
have been thinking of their own situation of soon entering the job market.
Questions 5 and 6 from the survey were somewhat similar in that they stated Finding a
job in Beijing is Hard and Finding a good job in Beijing is hard respectively. The reasons that
these two questions were included is because in many of the early interviews it became clear that
university students are thinking about good jobs versus bad jobs when they talk about the
unemployment issue in China. If you look at Bar Chart 2.125, generally people marked Question
6 as equal to or higher than their Question 5 response. This chart shows that most university
students believe that it is more difficult to obtain a good job in Beijing in comparison with an
average job.
25 Bar Chart 2.1: Appendix pg. 33

Sherwood 21

Question 7 had a majority respond Very True to the statement It is harder now for
university graduates to find jobs than it was before. From this data, it can be construed that
obtaining a university degree today does not gain the same regard as it did before 1999, when the
Chinese government pushed to have as many students as possible attend university. The value of
a university degree has decreased as more and more young people graduate college and embark
on their employment searches. This is definitely a detriment to the younger generation of
Chinese graduates who saw their parents gain success and climb economic ladders by earning
university degrees.
An interesting evolvement happened with survey Question 9 which stated The best jobs
in China are in big cities. Before conducting the research, I believed that most students would
consider the best jobs to be in the large Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
However, the results of the question prove differently. According to the survey, it appears that
many university students are not specifically targeting employment in the major cities for their
job searches. This evidence contrasts with the statement that graduates are competing with 6
million other fellow graduates for desirable jobs that are concentrated in a few large cities from
the 2010 EAI Report on Chinese Youth Unemployment.26 It seems that students will look for
employment in places other than the city, and the opportunities in the city are not always a sign
of a good job.
All of the quantitative data is attached in the appendix with tables and charts which detail
the responses of the members of the English Association at BJUT.
Chinas Qualitative Data Analysis

26 Litao and Yanjie, Unemployment of Chinas Youth, p.i.

Sherwood 22

I have conducted many interviews about the reported unemployment problem for recent
university graduates within China. By analyzing this data, it appears that unemployment is not
exactly the problem, but instead it is the availability of valued jobs. In many of the interviews, it
became apparent that it is not difficult to find a job in China (specifically speaking in Beijing).
There are plenty of people willing to hire for those less attractive jobs. Examples include jobs in
the service industry, construction, and those jobs involving manual labor. The problem is that
those sought-after jobs are so far and few between.
Of course university graduates from the top rated universities in China will be able to
secure adequate jobs, however those students graduating from the second and third rated schools
will find difficultly in competing with each other to obtained a good job. From the many
interviews, a good job can be defined as a job that allows you to utilize the education and skills
you received while studying at university. The predicament that many graduates find themselves
is that they must accept those lowered valued jobs if they wish to remain in Beijing. The reason
these students work these manual jobs with a degree from their university is that they want to
stay where the most likely job opportunities will be, in the big cities.
An interesting discovery that became evident in some of the qualitative methodologies
that were conducted is that the students who were actually from Beijing were far less worried
about finding jobs than those students who had traveled from home to attend BJUT. The reason
is that these students have a family base where they have the resources to make the connections
necessary for finding an acceptable job. They are also able to reside with their families while
they focus their energies on finding employment. In an interview I conducted with a university
student, she explained to me that her sister, a recent graduate looking for a job, has been able to

Sherwood 23

turn down several job offers in the hopes of finding a good job because she is still living with her
parents.27
On the other hand, students from other parts of China who have traveled to Beijing for
their education have a much more difficult experience. After graduation they must find and pay
for a place to live which is why they must find employment quickly. The lack of a family
supportive base puts them at a disadvantage to those students who are able to wait for and fully
focus on finding good employment.
China reports Beijings unemployment rate as being 4.1% which is relatively low. A
reason that I speculate the unemployment rate is reported as exceptionally low is not that China
is misconstruing their numbers but that it is in fact correct. People have employment, yet it
consists of low standard jobs that people must take because if the lack of good jobs. If there
were to be more research examining how many people are over qualified for their current jobs, I
believe the data would evidence that many people have had to choose lower standards for
employment because of the high competition within the community of university graduates.
Having connections is also very beneficial in finding a job after graduation. In an
interview I had with a national tour guide in China, I learned that large companies give special
benefits to the children of their employees.28 If their child decides to choose a major that is
applicable to that company, they will have a advantage when being hired. This is very beneficial
for university students whose parents work for these large corporations, but it does put those
students without a family connection at a disadvantage.
Kazakhstan Data Analysis

27 Interviews in China: Appendix pg. 38

28 Interviews in China: Appendix pg. 39

Sherwood 24

It became apparent that Chinas employment situation is very different from Kazakhstans
after comparing and analyzing the data collected from Kazakhstan to that of China. The data
from Kazakhstan evidenced that Kazakh university graduates are not experiencing the same
unemployment problems as Chinese university graduates. The situation is different because
Kazakhstan does not have the same level of competition among job seekers as China.
Kazakhstan is developing its country with the use of its natural resources creating many jobs, and
a university degree acquired in Kazakhstan is still a valuable commodity when searching for a
job.
The population disparity between Kazakhstan and China is a large factor that
differentiates the ability for university graduates to find jobs. According to the CIA
Worldfactbook, China currently maintains a population of 1.3 billion, and Kazakhstan only has
l5.5 million. This indicates that there will be far less students attending university at the same
time in Kazakhstan which means that there will not be an overflow of students graduating and
seeking employment at the same time. The fact that Kazakhstan has less people and less students
searching for jobs at the same time makes the job market far less competitive than in China.
Kazakhstan is a country that has very recently started developing itself. The large
developing cities of Almaty, Astana, Atyrau, and Aktau provide Kazakh university graduates
with easy access to employment after they complete their education. Almaty and Astana are
cities were new businesses are being created, and Atyrau and Aktau are cities with which
Kazakhstan is making use of it huge oil reserves along the Caspian Sea. These cities and the fact
that Kazakhstan is moving toward becoming a more developed country allows university
graduates ample opportunities for finding employment.

Sherwood 25

Another point which differentiates China from Kazakhstan is the present value of a
university degree. The data collected in Kazakhstan communicates that a university degree is
still very valuable. The reason that having a university education is more helpful in finding
employment in Kazakhstan is because there has not been a big government push to send all
students to university like there has been in China. Kazakh students are able to become educated
in a field of study and usually be able to find employment that relates to the knowledge and skills
they earned in university.
After analyzing the data collected in Kazakhstan, the situation for Kazakh university
graduates seems much more positive than that of the Chinese university graduates.

Conclusion
After spending ten weeks in China and Kazakhstan and doing extensive research relating
to the reported unemployment problem for university graduates, I have come to several
conclusions about the topic.
There is a problem with university graduates not being able to find employment that is
specific to China. When first hearing about the problem, one might think that the problem is that
there are not enough jobs in China for all of these graduates. However, through the data analysis
it became apparent that many university students believe that there are enough jobs, just not
enough good jobs to go around. University graduates must compete with each other to acquire
those few good jobs available. The reason that the problem is arising now is because more and
more Chinese students are choosing to attend university each year. The job market cannot keep
up with so many graduates looking for employment each year.

Sherwood 26

Another conclusion is that the value of a university degree has depreciated as a result of
all the the students attending university in China. It use to be that a university degree almost
guaranteed individual economic success in China but that has dramatically changed in todays
society. Employers are able to offer lower and lower salaries to new graduates because there are
so many of them applying for these jobs with the same degrees and qualifications. A university
degree does not hold the same prestige that it once did when applying for a job in China.
One aspect of the job search in China that became evident is that students with family
connections have an advantage when seeking employment. It was clear that students who were
from Beijing and had family ties in employment circles were not as concerned with finding a job
as those student who were studying in Beijing but were from another area of China. The local
students would be able to rely on the support of their families after they graduated, and they
would have the ability to take the time to find a good job. The students not from Beijing were
more concerned with how they would pay rent after graduation because they knew that they
would not have the option to spend the same amount of time seeking the best employment
opportunities.
A final conclusion relates to the data collected in Kazakhstan. It is clear that China and
Kazakhstan have very different employment situations when referring to university graduates
looking for work after they graduate. The Chinese students must fight through much more
competition while the Kazakh graduates are able to use their university degree to their advantage
in a fast developing country. The differences between the two countries make the problem in
China that much more obvious. Chinas growing university student population will mean even
more competition between graduates. It will be interesting to see if Chinese students will still be

Sherwood 27

as motivated to receive university degrees once they realize that a good job with a high salary is
definitely not guaranteed with the diploma.

Sherwood 28

Work Cited
Litao, Zhao and Huang Yanjie. Unemployment of Chinas Youth. EAI Background Brief No.
523, April 28, 2010. http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/BB523.pdf.
Rein, Shaun. Chinas Surprising Unemployment Problem. Forbes, September 7, 2010.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/07/china-economy-unemployment-leadership-managingrein_2.html.
Ya-li, Zhang. Youth Unemployment in China. FY2004 International Labour Project Liaison
Officer Meeting, September 26-27, 2004.

Sherwood 29

Appendix
Sample Survey

Pie Charts From BJUT Surveys

Sherwood 30

Sherwood 31

Sherwood 32

Sherwood 33

Sherwood 34

Sherwood 35

Sherwood 36

List of Interview Questions

What year are you?
What is your major?
What do you plan to do after university?
How will you look for a job?
Do you think you will have a hard time finding a job?
Do you have any friends that are having trouble finding jobs?
What do you think employers are looking for when they hire employees?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Interviews in China
April 1, 2011: Meeting with the Members of the English
Association at BJUT
Liang Lu: (Beijing, China) Electronics Major, 1st Year

asked her what she was planning after university and she said she was confused about
the future and was not sure what she wanted to do after she acquired her degree. She is at
Beijing University of Technology studying electronics. She mentioned that she was not
enjoying her studies and would possibly change majors.

Megan: (Beijing, China) Engineering Major, 1st Year

asked her what she would do after university and she was also unsure of her plans after
she graduated. She is studying engineering with a specialization on water engineering. I
also asked her did she think that the competition to find jobs in China was high and she
replied that she did. She said that she thinks she will be fine once she starts applying for
work.

April 14, 2010: Meeting with the Members of the English

Association at BJUT

Fizzy: (Canton, Guangdong, China) International Economics and Trade Major, 2nd Year

Sherwood 37

Fizz says she chose her major because it is not a hard major. She noted that the job
market in Beijing is especially competitive. The reasons she noted for the competitive
job atmosphere in Beijing is Chinas large population and the fact that there are too
many graduates looking for job at the same time. When asked what she thought what
companies looked at when hiring a new employee, she said that experience, education,
and skills were judged when getting a job. I also asked Fizzy if she knew any recent
graduates who were having trouble gaining employment. She told me that her friends
sister, who studied accounting, could not find a job after she graduated. The girl was
seeking employment from a company, but Fizzy said that because she did not graduate
from a good university, it is much more difficult for her to get a job. Fizzy says that
once she starts looking for a job, she will return to Canton instead of staying in Beijing.

Daisy: (Beijing, China) Electronics Major, 2nd Year

Dais said that she would look for a job after graduation by using the internet. She said
that there are some job hunting fairs as well. She currently works part-time as a waitress in
a coffee shop. She is majoring in electronics and hopes to work for a company that will
allow her to design electronic products. She believes that education plays a big role in
landing a job after graduation. Because everyone is learning English in China, Daisy also
believes that being able to speak English, and even a third language, is very favorable in
the job hunting environment.

Amy: (Hunan, China) Mechanical Engineering Major, Postgraduate

Amy is a postgraduate who hopes to work in Beijing as a teacher at the university level.

She specifically came to Beijing from Hunan province for her postgraduate studies at
Beijing University of Technology. When I asked her how the job market was as a

Sherwood 38

postgraduate, she said that it is very competitive and difficult. key reason she cited for the
difficultly in finding a good teaching job is that there are so many people in Beijing. She
says that she will most likely stay in Beijing because of the possible job opportunities.

Daisy: (Beijing, China) Business Major, 1st Year

Daisy is a business major at Beijing University of Technology. When asked about finding a

job after graduation, interestingly enough she said that finding a job in Beijing is eas. She
expanded on that and stated that low quality jobs are easily available in Beijing She noted
that finding a dream job which which she defined as something with your major and with a
good salary is difficult. He family is from Beijing, and she stated that she was not too
concerned about finding a job once she completes her education. She did state that in
certain majors, such as business, boys may have less trouble finding job compared with
girls.

April 21, 2011: Meeting with the Members of the English

Association at BJUT

Vina: (Beijing, China) Computer Science Major, 4th Year

Vina is from Beijing. She is in her 4th year at BJUT and when she graduates in June,

she said she will get a job in Beijing. She said that once she starts her job search, she
will use the internet as her primary means of finding a job. She di say that it was easy
to find a bad job, but it is hard to find a good job especially in Beijing. She gave me
examples of a few of her friends who had graduated last year and still were having
trouble finding good jobs in Beijing. She said that employers look at expertise,
experience, language ability when hiring new employees.

Sherwood 39

Michelle: (Anhui, China) Information Management and Information Systems, 2nd Year

Michell is the President of the English Club at BJUT. She stated that its not hard
to find a job when you have the expertise. She says it also depends on what kinds of
job you are looking for and how motivated a person is about finding a job. She does
feel pressure to find a job soon or even before she graduates because she is not from
Beijing and cannot stay with her family in the city like most of the other students at
BJUT.

Li Wei: (Guangdong, China) Computer Science Major, 3rd Year

Li Wei said, its hard to find a job in Beijing because there are so many people. He says

that companies are not always looking to hire new employees so it is hard for students after
graduation. Hi parents live in rural and he says that they dont understand how competitive
finding a job is even with a university degree. He will try and stay in Beijing after he
graduates because there will be the possibility of better opportunities if he stays in Beijing.

Diana: (Beijing, China) Economics and Trade Major, 3rd Year

Diana says that after she graduates from BJUT, she will go to Hong Kong to attend

graduate school to study business or marketing for 2 years. After graduate school, she
says she will return to Beijing, where her family is from, to find a job. She says that
because there are so many people, it is more difficult to find a job in Beijing. Tha is
why she is choosing to continue her education past a bachelors degree. She thinks that
it will be better to be more qualified with a higher education degree before entering the
job market. She thinks that having a higher level education degree is more favorable to
companies than work experience.

Sally: (Beijing, China) Economics and Trade, 3rd Year

Sherwood 40
After graduating from BJUT, Sally wants to go to attend graduate school in the United

States. She also want to try and work in the United States for 2 years before retuning to
Beijing to find a job. She wants to find a job having to do with banking or trade. She
believes that companies will evaluate work experience, education, ability to work with
a team, and communication skills when hiring new employees. She is optimistic that
she will find a job after she completes her studies even with the competitive job
atmosphere within Beijing.

Nina: (Beijing, China) Traffic Engineering Major, 3rd Year

Nina wants to attend a graduate school in Beijing after graduation, then she will find a job.

He sister who is 23 and a recent Environmental Engineering graduate has been

unable to find a job for almost 1 year. She has been offered low paying jobs at
several companies, but she is waiting for a job with a higher salary. She is able to
do this because her parents are from Beijing. She has been living at home while she
focuses all of her energies on searching for the right job.

Many of Vinas other friends who had graduated last year took several months to a

get a job after graduation.

May 12, 2011: Interview with Chinese National Tour Guide

Sherry: (Anhui Province, China) Graduated university in 2004 with English Major
She works as a national tour guide in China.
She lives in Beijing but is originally from Anhui.

Sherry says that university students think that because they went to university they will
get a good job with a high paying salary but thats not true.

Sherwood 41

She says: There are very few good jobs in Beijing. A starting salary could be only 2,000 yuan a
month. People choose to stay in big cities for work because there are more opportunities, and it
also sounds better to say you are working in a big city. A basic apartment monthly rent in
Beijing costs around 3,000 yuan. When people receive their jobs, they sign contracts for a
certain amount of years. If they are more qualified they get a longer contract. People like to get
government jobs because they are fixed jobs. Most jobs used to be fixed after students graduated
university but not now. She agrees that it is easy to get a bad job in Beijing.
She said one bad job that many university students must take could be a salesman or sales
representative. They might start off with a monthly salary of 700 yuan and then the rest of what
they make depends on the commissions they make. She says that many university graduates
must these jobs because they are unable to find a job that allows them to utilize the degree they
earned while in university.
She also notes that big companies allow give special notices to their employees children.
If their child decides to choose a major that is applicable to that company, they will have a
advantage when being hired. Both of Sherrys parents work for SINOPAC, a large oil company
based in Southern China. She had the option of working for the company but she was more
interested in tourism.

Interviews in Kazakhstan
May 17, 2011: Informal Interview with Kazakh University Student

Medina: (Astana, Kazakhstan) Economics Major, 4th Year

Medina is a senior at KIMEP University in Almaty. She is from Astana but chose to attend

KIMEP in Almaty because of its good reputation. She wants to study abroad in France

Sherwood 42

before settling down and finding a job in Kazakhstan. She does not think it will be
especially hard to find employment in Kazakhstan because she is an economist which is an
important field in Kazakhstan. She thinks that having a university degree in Kazakhstan is
valuable when embarking on a job search.

May 22, 2011: Interview with Staff at Karaganda State University

Mariya: (Karaganda, Kazakhstan) English Physiology Major, Postgraduate

She works on the staff at Karaganda State University

She graduated in 2010 and it took her 3 months to find a job after graduating. She applied

at many universities and kept reapplying at Karaganda State University. She thinks that
finding a job after university is somewhat difficult, but she thinks that 3 months is a good
time period for finding a job after graduation. She does not think that there are more job
opportunities in the cities of Kazakhstan. She did say that language plays a role in
Kazakhstan. Most university students know at least two languages. Knowing Kazakh is a
definite plus when looking for a job in Kazakhstan. She said that having connections
make it much easier to find a job. If you know people working in a company or business,
they can help you acquire employment. She also said that having money helps in finding a
job. If you or your family has money it can help to support you while you look for a job.
She characterizes a good job as one where you can utilize what you learned in university as
well as have good working conditions.

May 24, 2011: Interviews with Staff at Karaganda State University

Ilnura: (Karaganda, Kazakhstan) English Major, Postgraduate

She works on the staff at Karaganda State University.

Sherwood 43
She graduated in 2009 and it took her 4 months to find her job after graduations. She says

that it is difficult for graduates to find a job without a masters degree. She did say that
there is somewhat of a trend of young people from the more rural areas of Kazakhstan
moving to the cities for the opportunities. There is a program where the government gives
some young people in the rural areas loans so that they may attend university in the cities.
After they finish their education, they are required to return to their hometown or village
and work for a set amount of years in the hope that they can stimulate growth.

May 26, 2011: Discussion with KIMEP Student Association

Discussion with Students about Kazakhstan

A relevant topic that came up during the discussion with the KIMEP student association

was the fact that many students study abroad. A problem that has arisen because of so
many intelligent students leaving Kazakhstan to study in Western countries like the United
States or the United Kingdom is that after they complete their education and receive their
degree, they choose to work and live abroad. This takes away from allowing Kazakhstan to
develop because these students take all that they have learned with them to other countries.

May 28, 2011: Interview with Student from KIMEP University in

Kazakhstan

Student from KIMEP: (Almaty, Kazakhstan) Business Major, 2nd Year

She says that unemployment is not much of a problem in Kazakhstan. She noted a
university degree is still very valuable in Kazakhstan and those who at least have a bachelors
degree can usually find a job. She notes that it may take longer to find a job that fits your
capabilities but usually graduates are able to find a good job after some time. She also listed

Sherwood 44

Kazakhstans development as being a reason that graduates are able to find employment once
they start looking. She specifically listed five cities in Kazakhstan which graduates would be
likely to find employment.
The five cities included:
Astana: Astana is the new capital of Kazakhstan and there many people would be able

to find jobs relating to the construction of new buildings, and there are also many jobs
that relate to the government sector. When Kazakhstan4444 decided to change its
capital to Astana, all of the governmental institutions and offices were relocated to
Astana. There fore, those graduates seeking employment positions with the Kazakh
government are likely to find those types of jobs in Astana.
Almaty- She describes Almaty as a city of entertainment. Because Almaty was the

previous capitol of Kazakhstan, many businesses and companies chose to remain in

Almaty instead of relocating to Astana. She says that Almaty is a good place for
businesses to start because there are many young people and students in the city.
Almaty is also the site of many of the colleges and universities of Kazakhstan. This
influx of student attracts more entertainment service to Almaty.
Atyrau and Aktau: Atyrau and Aktau are both cities in Kazakhstan that can be

described as the oil and gas cities of Kazakhstan. They are situated on the Caspian Sea.
There are many oil drilling companies in both cities which includes plants, factories,
and offices. These cities attract graduates who major in a field of study that can be
applicable to the oil industry. For this reason, many students move to these cities for
their employment opportunities.

Sherwood 45
Aktobe: Aktobe is another city in Kazakhstan that draws graduates with its

employment opportunities. There are service companies located there which provide
service that relates to the oil industry. She also mentioned that the largest factory for
producing vodka is located in Aktobe.
Timurtau: Timurtau is a city that houses many factories for the production of chemicals.

This is another place which graduates can focus their employment search.

The student did hear of people who graduated but could not find a job after half a year,
but she mentioned that these were rare cases. She ultimately concluded that it depended on the
persons personal qualification for finding a job. The university degree is important but there
must also be motivation behind finding that job.