One of China's biggest human resource service providers, 51job Inc, launched the Employment Situation of University Graduates 2014 on 19 August. The report revealed that despite the tougher employment situation as 2.8 million more students are graduating from universities than in 2013, new graduates are expecting higher salaries.

Based on a survey of more than 100,000 students and 613 companies across China, the report found that 52 percent of recent graduates from prestigious universities expect a starting monthly salary of 6,000 yuan (GBP570) to 8,000 yuan (GBP760), up 9 percent from previous year. Nearly 10 percent of respondents said they hope for more than 10,000 yuan (GBP950)per month, and the rest expect 2,000 to 4,000 yuan (GBP190 to 380).

According to the report, college graduates value the corporate brand most when they look for jobs. It also revealed that Internet, FMCG and Property development are the top three popular industry sectors among graduates. The largest job vacancies are from accounting and finance, trade, ICT, Computer technology and Internet, Mechanics and Electronics and FMCG sectors. Science and technology background graduates have better employment rate.