And here in China, many are also finding it hard to get a job. And it's even harder for students fresh out of college. Liu Ying reports from a job fair, where many graduates say they're ready to take less pay, as long as that means securing much-needed employment.

The timing of their graduation is unlucky, coinciding with the most severe global economic downturn in decades.

With anxious and grim looks on their faces, dozens of college students lined up outside a gymnasium at Renmin University, waiting to attend a campus job fair on Saturday. The timing of their graduation is unlucky, coinciding with the most severe global economic downturn in decades.

Liu Ying, Beijing, said, "Statistics indicate more than 6.1 million college students will graduate and join the army of job seekers next year. That's 500 thousand more than this year. But the global economic downturn has forced some multinational and domestic companies to trim, or even cancel, recruitment plans. This will certainly make it more difficult for students to find jobs."

Xie Yunsheng has already felt the pinch. The economics graduate student has been to a dozen job fairs so far, but has been disappointed to find slashed recruiting

quotas and lower salaries. He has expanded his scope from financial institutions to other sectors. But his prospects are still dim.

Many students have adjusted their salary expectations quite a bit.

But the English major says one thousand yuan less a month will be fine with her.

More than 30 companies from the southern business hub of Guangzhou gathered at the campus job fair on Saturday. They ranged from car makers to government departments.

Guangzhou Rural Credit Cooperative, the city's fifth largest bank, plans to recruit up to 200 new graduates this year, similar to last year.

That's very intense competition for student job seekers. The government promised to help college students find employment by providing consultations, giving guidance and training for job-hunting. But for a majority of graduates, less jobs and lower salaries are the grim outlook that they will have to confront.

(CCTV November 24, 2008)