Most fourth-year university students in Shanghai would rather stay at home without a job than accept a position that pays less than 1,500 yuan (US$186) a month, according to a recent survey.

A Nasdaq-listed headhunting firm, 51job.com, surveyed 58,665 university students who expect to graduate in June and 5,800 employers throughout the country over the past six weeks about their job-hunting and recruitment plans for this year. Half of the respondents were based in Shanghai.

More than 60 percent of the local students surveyed said that they won't consider job offers with a salary of less than 1,500 yuan per month, about 500 yuan a month more than their peers in other parts of the country.

The company didn't provide comparison figures from previous years.

About 31 percent of the local students said they expect to earn 3,001 yuan to 5,000 yuan a month after graduating, while another 21 percent said they expect to earn more than 5,000 yuan a month, according to the survey.

"Those are reasonable expectations," said Zhou Fei, a senior student at Shanghai Normal University. "Considering the city's high cost of living, a salary of 1,500 yuan means a tight budget for ordinary locals, let alone young people with higher marriage and housing pressure."

Since parents have made a large investment in their children's education, both graduates and their parents would feel it unfair to take home a similar salary as people with a lower education background, said Yuan Chunfen, Zhou's mother.

Zhou added that she also would rather wait for better opportunities at home than taking an embarrassing job with a low salary.

Gaps still exist between what students hope to earn and employers plan to pay.

About 47 percent of the surveyed employers said they would offer recent graduates a salary ranging from 2,001 yuan to 3,000 yuan a month.

About 24 local employers surveyed said that they plan to pay fresh graduates less than 2,000 yuan per month. Only 3 percent of the companies surveyed said they would pay a recent graduate more than 5,000 yuan a month.

Jinny Zhang, the human resources manager at a local German company, said that employers are reluctant to offer large salaries to recent graduates who have yet to prove their abilities on the job.

If a graduate does outperform others, his salary is sure to increase quickly with his growing working experience, Zhang added.

Nearly 63 percent of the companies surveyed said the graduates they recruited last year are still adapting to working life, and many lack a proper sense of responsibility.

(Shanghai Daily January 23, 2006)