New grads get paid the most in Shanghai

New university graduates earned higher salaries in Shanghai than in other major cities on the Chinese mainland this year, a career website reported Thursday.

New graduates earned 4,859 yuan ($791) a month on average in Shanghai, beating out No.2 Beijing and No.3 Shenzhen, where they made 4,746 yuan and 4,494 yuan a month, respectively, according to a report by the job-hunting website zhaopin.com. The site pooled employment data from 28 mainland cities this year for the report.

High salaries made Shanghai one of the most popular destinations for young graduates among the cities, said Du Ronglin, a press officer for the website. "Apart from this, they believe more opportunities are available in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, where a lot of big companies are based," she told the Global Times.

Some young workers reckon that they have a better shot at success in the big cities, where they can build larger personal networks, Du said.

With more new graduates flooding into the big cities, however, the competition for good jobs has intensified. According to the report, Shanghai has the fourth most competitive job market in the country, following Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, and Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

Shanghai employers received 101 resumes on average for each position this year, up from 69 resumes in 2011, the report said. In Guangzhou, which has the most competitive job market in the country, this year's figure is 115 resumes.

The competition gets fiercer at State-owned enterprises. State-owned enterprises in Shanghai received an average of 162 resumes this year for each open position, compared with 89 resumes at joint-venture companies and 69 resumes at private companies, the report said. Most job seekers continue to believe that State-owned enterprises provide the best job security and benefits.

New graduates also pay close attention to the size of a company when searching for their first job. The report found that larger firms receive more applicants than smaller companies. At companies with more than 1,000 employees, 92 people apply on average for each job. The figure falls to 76 at companies with between 500 and 999 employees. "We suggest that new graduates start their careers at smaller companies or in smaller cities, where they have a better chance of finding a job because the competition isn't as fierce," Du said.

She also advised students to start doing internships as soon as possible so they can learn what they want to do early in their careers.