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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Alastair McCready

China’s graduate glut: millions enter a job market with little use for them

Graduates toss their caps in the air at a graduation ceremony at Nanjing Agricultural University
Graduates toss their caps in the air at a graduation ceremony at Nanjing Agricultural University. A record 12.7 million people graduated from college in China this year. Photograph: China News Service/Getty Images

This time of year is graduation season in China: traditionally a bittersweet period of solemn goodbyes and family celebrations as university students transition from campus life into adulthood. Now it also increasingly represents trepidation about the future.

Each year, millions more graduates are thrust into China’s already saturated jobs market. The situation for this year’s cohort, flooding into an increasingly crowded pool of applicants fighting for an insufficient number of positions, is arguably the bleakest yet.

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