ThedifficultiesyoungChineseuniversitygraduateshavehadinfindingajoboverthepastfewmonthshavebeenmakingtheheadlinesinthemediaandcausingconcernthroughoutsociety.EducationprofessionalsinChinahaveallhadsomethingtosayaboutit.Agoodnumberofthem,referringtothecurrentphaseofsocialtransitioninChina,havecomeoutinfavourofthemasseducationprogrammethathasbeenpractisedinrecentyearsinChineseuniversities.Othershaveraiseddoubtsaboutthereliabilityofthefigureofonly70%astherateofemploymentfornewgraduates,whichtheyconsidertobealarmist.Infact,accordingtothestatisticsprovidedbytheMinistryofEducationitself,outofthe2.12milliongraduatesinthegeneralhighereducationsectorin2003,640,000hadnotsignedaworkcontractbytheendoftheirstudies

　　Inthesecircumstances,itisunderstandablethatinthecurrentlabourmarketinShanghai,forexample,newuniversitygraduatesaresettlingforamonthlysalaryof1,200yuan,slightlymorethandoubleShanghai’sminimumwage,atthesametimeastheyarehavingtofacesignificantoverheads(superannuation,unemploymentinsurance,healthinsurance,etc.).IfwetakeintoaccountthecostoflivinginShanghai(includingaccommodation,transportandtelecommunications),itwouldappearthatthesalaryofthesegraduatesisbarelyenoughtocovertheirbasicneeds.Thepurposeofthisarticleistobetterunderstandthecurrentunemploymentofyounggraduates,beyondanyproposalsbeingputforwardinthecontextofhighereducationreform.