THE salary expectations of college graduates have dropped to that of migrant workers amid fierce competition for few vacancies, some graduates said at a government-sponsored job fair yesterday (Apr 10).

About 6,300 jobseekers were competing for 2,920 vacancies at the fair held at the city's Career Service Center yesterday, the first of 11 free fairs offering jobs provided by private companies to be held this week.

Amid the people pushing and jostling in front of job bulletins was Du Qingjie, a senior student from a university in Shanxi Province. Du, a neatly-dressed young man, said he expected about 1,500 yuan (US$187) a month, "if the company does not provide accommodation."

The salary cited by Du was fairly close to that offered to fresh graduates by some local companies, which promised between 1,000 and 1,500 yuan a month for new employees without experience.

Du came to Shenzhen a fortnight ago, and is living in a schoolmate's dormitory in Longgang District. In these two weeks, the electronics major has sent out more than 20 resumes, without receiving a single reply.

Du regards Shenzhen as his first choice for career development. "There are lots of opportunities here," said Du. However, he said he would have to give up and try his luck in other cities if he could not land a job in Shenzhen in another 15 days.

However, despite the low salaries expected by university graduates, some companies are still unwilling to hire people without experience.

Gu Peidong, a human resources manager of a company based in Longgang District, said his company had held job fairs at six inland universities earlier this year, with its 50 vacancies attracting a total of 3,000 applicants.

"The competition among new graduates are becoming increasingly fierce," said Gu, who attributed the fierce competition to the rising number of graduates.

A total of 4.13 million students are to graduate from Chinese universities this year, up about 25 percent from 2005, and nearly four times as many as 2001.

A survey by the national human resources administration last year among graduates from 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities showed that 10.9 percent of them went to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the richest cities on the mainland.

Editor: Wing