Junior colleges, vocational schools outperform universities in job market

Graduates from junior colleges and higher vocational schools reported a better employment rate than university graduates, according to a survey released on Monday.

The survey, published by education research company MyCOS, showed that about 91.5 percent of Chinese college students who graduated in 2018 found jobs.

Among them, 91 percent of university graduates last year got employed, down from 92.6 percent in 2014. Graduates from junior colleges and higher vocational schools, on the other hand, saw an employment rate of 92 percent last year, up from 91.5 percent in 2014.

According to the survey, the pressure on university graduates looking for jobs did not markedly increase due to their pursuit of advanced degrees, with only 4.2 percent of such graduates waiting for offers.

However, the figure was 7.5 percent for students from junior colleges and higher vocational schools looking for jobs.

Besides, more graduates found jobs in prefecture-level cities or below and were employed by private enterprises, the survey showed.

Fifty-four percent of university graduates last year were employed in private enterprises, an increase of 4 percentage points compared with 2014, while the figure for graduates from junior colleges and higher vocational schools stood at 68 percent, up 3 percentage points from 2014.

The survey also revealed the average monthly income last year of Chinese college graduates was 4,624 yuan ($670), which was higher than the monthly average disposable income of urban residents at 3,271 yuan in 2018.