"I am lucky enough compared with my college mates," Chen, who majored in foreign trade at Xiamen University, told China Daily yesterday in a telephone interview. At least 10 students from his class are still out of work.

Figures released by the Ministry of Education show an 80 per cent employment rate for those graduates of 2002. That means nearly 300,000 students remain jobless nationwide.

And this year's prospects look even worse, with 2003 set to witness a peak number of graduates as a result of Chinese colleges and universities enlarging enrolment in 1999, according to official forecasts.

In the words of experts, it is an "unemployment war."

"Competition in China's job market has become increasingly hot," said Zhao Naiyan, a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body.

But it does not mean that people with a higher education are plentiful, said Xu Xi'an, a CPPCC member and former director of the commission on education in Beijing.

Xu said that only about 5 per cent of the Chinese population has gone on to higher education, far less than that in developed countries and even some developing ones. "Our target is to reach 15 per cent," Xu said.

Those studying science and engineering such as automation or electronic engineering are still in short supply, Xu said. Conversely, Chinese, history or philosophy graduates continue to have difficulty finding work.

The difficulties the graduates face are a part of the unemployment war, Chinese political advisers said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security indicate that young people - those under 35 - entering the labour market reach a peak during the period of 2001-05, and average an annual growth rate of 2.9 million. These numbers, coupled with laid-off workers, will take the total of the unemployed in the country to between 22 and 23 million every year. With around 7 to 8 million jobs being created annually, this spells a shortage of 14 to 15 million.

In addition, there are around 150 million surplus rural workers searching for work in cities, adding to the mounting pressure of unemployment.

Xu stressed that private business and community service, including those employed in the local service sector such as shops and domestic cleaning, are the most potentially promising sectors to provide employment for those laid-off workers with a comparatively low level of education.

(China Daily March 11, 2003)