What is the main reason why it is difficult for college students to find jobs now?

First, the institutional segmentation of the labor market. Although the gross enrollment rate of higher education in my country has reached 30%, the proportion of those with a college degree or above in the total employed population is not high, only about 12%, and the distribution between urban and rural areas is very uneven. About 88% of college graduates are employed in cities and towns. If the labor market is fully competitive and labor mobility is low-cost, it will be greatly reduced for college graduates to find employment.

But the reality is that my country’s labor market is segmented, and it is an institutional segmentation. The labor market is divided into two parts by household registration and other systems: one part can be called the main labor market, with urban household registration, good working environment, strong stability, and good wages and benefits; the other part is the opposite of the former and can be called secondary labor market. The two markets are independent of each other and difficult to move. There is no doubt that college students will definitely choose the main labor market when they graduate. Even if they fail to do so, they will be cautious about the secondary labor market. Some may "condescend", while others would rather "stay at home". After all, the number of jobs in the main labor market is limited. If we don’t go to the non-main labor market, employment difficulties will be inevitable. Therefore, the difficulty in finding employment among college students is not quantitative, but structural, and is the result of college students' pursuit of high-quality employment.

The second is the impact of economic development methods. For more than ten years, my country's economy has continued to grow at a rapid pace. Why does high growth not bring corresponding full employment for college students? An important reason is that there is something wrong with the way economic development occurs. The practice of various countries has proved that with the advancement of industrialization and urbanization, the industrial structure will also undergo corresponding changes, mainly the proportion of the primary and secondary industries continues to decrease, and the proportion of the tertiary industry continues to increase.

This continuous transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure requires educational institutions to provide a workforce with corresponding knowledge levels and knowledge structures. At the same time, innovation driven by education will also promote high-quality development of different industries. This is a virtuous interaction and cycle. However, my country's economic growth has always been mainly driven by the secondary industry, and the tertiary industry is underdeveloped. In the tertiary industry, low-end service industries are the mainstay, and high-end service industries that can absorb more college students for employment are underdeveloped.

The third factor is the quality of university talent training. Although there are nearly 7 million college graduates every year, some employers still complain that they cannot recruit suitable talents, believing that current college graduates have poor practical skills and poor teamwork awareness. Higher education and the labor market are both relatively independent and influence each other, and this mutual influence has different connotations at different stages of development. After years of enrollment expansion, my country's higher education has already entered the stage of popularization.

However, due to various reasons, the school running philosophy, curriculum, teaching methods, etc. of many colleges and universities are still stuck in the elite education stage. The students they train are very different from the needs of employers. These students are entering the society. Encountering difficulties is inevitable. In addition, since the large-scale expansion of higher education is mainly completed by private colleges and local colleges and universities, compared with colleges and universities affiliated to ministries and commissions, the operating conditions of local colleges and universities, especially private colleges and universities, are worse. It is difficult to prepare materials and other aspects to meet the requirements of rapid enrollment expansion, and the quality of talent training will be affected to a certain extent.

In fact, although the initial employment rate of college graduates in my country has remained between 70% and 80%, there are great differences between schools at different levels. Most of the "985" universities and "211" universities are in the 95 This also means that the initial employment rate of most local colleges and private colleges may be less than 60%.

The fourth is the issue of college students’ employability and employment concepts. According to a survey, nearly 60% of students in my country believe that "lack of ability" is the reason for difficulty in finding a job. Our research also shows that academic performance, English level 4 and 6 certificates, vocational qualification certificates, party membership, etc., all have a significant impact on employment probability and employment quality. Employability is of course related to university education, but it is also closely related to an individual's subjective effort. Some students have unreasonable time allocation during college, have almost no career plans, lack self-confidence, and have no core competitiveness. It is difficult for such students to be discovered and hired by employers in the fierce job market. Employment perceptions are a more complex issue.

Many people believe that the most direct and fundamental reason why it is difficult for college students to find employment is their backward employment concept. They say that college graduates only focus on the iron rice bowl and big cities and do not keep pace with the times.

I don't entirely agree with this. Concepts have always been a reflection of reality. The reason why college students focus on big cities and iron rice bowls is because in the current context, they can bring more opportunities and benefits to people. This is understandable. However, what needs attention is the issue of employment concepts caused by family factors. Many of today's college students are only children born in the 1990s. Parents can not only support them to go to college, but also support their lives after graduation. Therefore, college students may be too picky about their jobs due to excessive parental wishes when looking for a job. This special social phenomenon needs guidance, and college graduates should be encouraged to choose jobs according to their own conditions.