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Young graduates in China struggle to secure jobs

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Job hunting has become even tougher for fresh college graduates in China as nearly seven million of them have poured into the working world.

Young graduates in China struggle to secure jobs.[File photo]

It has been estimated that only three out of 10 are expected to land a job.

Chen Shi, a postgraduate student in Beijing, has struggled to land his first job.

"I started looking for jobs last September and have applied to plenty of companies. Only half of them gave me a chance for an interview, but no one has hired me yet," he said.

Chen got his bachelor's degree two years ago from one of China's elite universities. To get a leg up on the competition, he decided to continue his studies. However, that has become a decision he now regrets.

"I felt a lot of pressure when job searching two years ago. So I applied for postgraduate study. But it seems the employment situation this year is even bleaker. The job vacancies are really limited, you have to beat out thousands of other graduates for only one position," Chen added.

There are millions of other young graduates in the same boat, entering a cut-throat job market.

This year in China, nearly seven million new college graduates were trying to find a job, the highest number in decades. Now, with only one month to go before graduation, seven out of 10 are still without a contract.

Many are even dubbing 2013 the worst year in history to be a young Chinese graduate.

In the first quarter of this year, China's GDP expanded by 7.7 percent, the slowest in years. This has seen many employers cut back on new recruits.

In Beijing there are only around 100,000 vacancies for new graduates, down 15 percent from last year.

The nation's top leaders are even weighing in on the issue. Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a surprise visit to a job fair in the eastern city of Tianjin on May 14. A move to show solidarity with struggling graduates.

But it is not just young Chinese who are struggling.

According to the International Labor Organization, around 75 million young people across the world are looking for a job. And an article published in the Economist magazine highlights that "the number of young people out of work is nearly as big as the population of the United States."

Years ago, for many young graduates, owning a bachelor's degree was like holding a golden ticket to a high-paid job. But for now, it seems the only thing a degree might guarantee is a trip to a job fair.