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Over half of foreign firms in Shanghai not to hire new graduates

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-24 16:27

SHANGHAI - A survey released on Sunday said that less than half of foreign-invested enterprises (FIE) in Shanghai plan to hire fresh graduates this year, but only a few of them, due to the deepening global financial crisis take an increasing toll on China.

According to the survey conducted by the Shanghai Foreign Service Company, 45.12 percent of FIEs have plans to employ new graduates.

Among them, only 7.14 percent plan to hire more than 50 new graduates with no work experience, while 42.86 percent need 10 to 50 positions filled, and about half will recruit fewer than 10 young people.

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The tightening job market comes as a result of the ongoing financial crisis. Of those firms that aren't taking in new graduates, 80 percent listed the current financial crisis as a major reason. The remaining 20 percent said they never have a policy of hiring new graduates, according to the survey.

The most popular graduates are those with science and engineering majors, followed by those in economics or management. Science and engineering majors were listed as the most needed by 44.44 percent of FIEs while 25.93 percent were anxious to hire the latter. Arts majors were the favorite for 11.11 percent of companies. About 18.52 percent of FIEs don't have specific requirements for degrees.

About 32 percent of the job openings require technical skills while 22.73 percent of new jobs fall in the category of marketing and sales. About 13.64 percent are jobs in research and development, while the least demand is for management trainees at 9.09 percent.

Despite the hard times, 97.88 percent of new graduates participating in the survey wish to find a job in Shanghai. Few of them are interested in working in under-developed regions.

The survey, entitled the 2009 Report on Demand for Talents by FIEs in Shanghai, interviewed 104 FIEs in fields including manufacturing, energy and chemical engineering, logistics, trade, IT, medicine, advertising, finance, consulting, and accounting.