In May, the Ministry of Education said college graduates would find it more difficult to get a suitable job this year. It had reason to say so: only about 30 percent of college graduates in the three first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou had landed a job until May 1. The situation has improved in the past two and half months but is still not satisfactory.

The condition of the job market has forced graduates to drastically lower their salary expectations even in the face of rising commodity prices. According to the 2013 Chinese College Graduates Employment Pressure Report, graduates' salary expectation has dropped from 5,537.5 yuan ($902) in 2011 to 3,683.6 yuan in 2013. No wonder, the media say "this is the most difficult year for college graduates to find a job".

The plight of graduates in the job market even prompted Premier Li Keqiang to say at a State Council executive meeting on May 15 that measures should be taken to solve graduates' employment problem.