The government will provide tax incentives and loans to university graduates who set up businesses to serve the rural community, the statement added. Similar benefits will be offered to existing small businesses in villages that hire university graduates, including in areas such as housekeeping and elderly care.
Generally, college graduates in China prefer to work for high-paying companies in big cities, and there is a significant income gap between rural and urban areas. But this is not the first time in recent years that the government has urged to seek employment in the vast but less developed countryside of the country.
In July 2020, when the first coronavirus outbreak hit China’s economy, authorities encouraged university graduates to move to rural areas, rather than congregating in cities and fighting for limited job opportunities. .
But this year, students are running out of options.
Chinese graduates face toughest graduation season as a record 10.76 million are expected to complete college in the next two months.
The urban unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds reached a historic high of 18.2% in May, according to the latest government statistics. The figure does not take into account new university graduates for this year.
China only surveys employment in urban areas.
The ‘incredibly’ tough college entrance exams
As the employment situation deteriorates, getting into college is becoming even more difficult in China.
A record 11.93 million students sat the country’s grueling university entrance exam last week. These students are competing to enter the best universities in the country, often under enormous pressure from their parents and families.
This year, students took to social media to complain about the exceptional difficulty of the exam, and related topics have been trending on Weibo since the weekend.