June 5, 2013
Translated by Zhu Na

Almost 7 million students are set to graduate from China's higher education institutions this year. In recent weeks domestic media has been full of reports about how grim the employment outlook is.

Yesterday's Beijing Times however carried a report that could offer some hope to those searching for work. The paper reported that the offices of China's Ministry of Education and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) recently issued a notice instructing state-owned enterprises to recruit more university graduates than in previous years.

The notice said state-owned enterprises should lift the number of graduates they recruit by a reasonable amount in order to meet their personnel needs over the coming 3 to 5 years.

The notice also stressed that state-owned enterprises should not discriminate on the grounds of gender, hukou, qualifications or educational institution during the hiring process.

SOE were also instructed to take into consideration the employment prospects of university graduates
from national minorities and were told to offer more employment opportunities to graduates from Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang.

Links and Sources
Beijing Times: 教育部国资委要求国企扩大招人规模
Ministry of Education: 关于做好2013-2014年国有企业招收高校毕业生工作有关事项的通知
Economic Observer Online: Tough Spring for Graduating Job-Seekers
Economic Observer Online: Graduates Look to Second-tier Cities as Job Market Tightens