중국 대졸자 노동시장의 실태와 취업정책에 관한 연구

Abstract

Abstract

Since the Chinese government's decision to expand university enrollment in 1999, the number of college graduates in China increased sharply, by nearly 3 million, and reached 7 million in 2013. Slow growth rate of Chinese economy since the global financial crisis resulted in an oversupply of college-educated labor force. In response to the imbalance in the labor market for college graduates, the Chinese government developed and implemented employment policies. This paper investigates the labor market condition of college graduates in China and the effect of employment policies to raise employment rate of college graduates. Firstly, the main problem of job markets for college graduates in China is structural unemployment, a mismatch between the supply of and the demand for college graduates. More specifically, many of college graduates in China desire to work in the metropolitan areas such as cities located on the eastern coast of the country, while jobs for new college graduates in those areas are not large enough to meet the supply. In addition, Chinese college education is believed to fail to provide all of its graduates with basic skills that are required to meet job market's need. A mismatch between college graduates skill and job markets need aggravates unemployment or underemployment of college graduates in China even further. Secondly, in order to resolve college graduates' unemployment, the Chinese government has implemented two different types of labor market policies. One is to eliminate barriers to employment market intelligence, help college students into the company for full employment. The other is to alleviate regional differences, guide students to relatively backward economic development of grass-roots employment. Last, but not least, promotion policy for the college graduate start-ups inspired college graduates with entrepreneurship such that many of college students in China regarded the start-up as an alternative to traditional employment. In particular, community college graduates, who are suffering more from unemployment, are more likely to be self-employed to improve their economic conditions. However, there seems to be much room for improvement in the promotion policy for the college graduate start-ups. The unemployment or underemployment of college graduate caused by structural mismatch in the Chinese labor market could be alleviated by increasing public funding and supports for start-ups.

Key words: Chinese college graduates' labor market, employment policy, the basic unit employment, college students entrepreneurship.