[lbo-talk] Chinese Students' Grim Employment Prospects

[michael perelman]

I am saddened by the employment prospects for my students, but the 
problems for Chinese students seem even more severe.  I met no 
university students who expected any desirable jobs.  Here is an article 
that suggests that my own observation of Chinese students was too rosy.

"China's college graduates on average make only 300 yuan, or roughly 
$44, more per month than the average Chinese migrant worker, according 
to statistics cited over the weekend by a top Chinese labor researcher 
and reported today by the Beijing Times."

  ""It's the first time China has faced such a situation," the paper 
quoted Cai Fang, head of the Chinese Academy of Social Science's 
Institute of Population and Labor Economics, as saying Saturday at a 
conference on Chinese youth. "It's hard to say how long this situation 
will last." By Mr. Cai's calculations, college graduates have 
consistently earned around 1,500 yuan a month since 2003. Migrant 
workers, meanwhile, have seen their monthly wages rise from an average 
of 700 yuan to 1,200 yuan over roughly the same time period, Mr. Cai 
said, according to the Beijing Times."

Chin, Josh. 2010. "Value of a Chinese College Degree: $44?" Wall Street 
Journal China Realtime Report (22 
November).http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2010/11/22/value-of-a-chinese-college-degree-44/#

-- 
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA
95929

mperelman at csuchico.edu

530 898 5321
fax 530 898 5901
http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com