Graduates looking for higher starting salary

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Local college students who will graduate next summer are expecting a higher starting salary from foreign-invested companies compared to last year, analysts said at a job fair yesterday.

Andres Acosta Egea, 24, attends a job fair at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics yesterday. A local university student, Egea said the employment situation in his own country, Spain, was not very good.

Andres Acosta Egea, 24, attends a job fair at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics yesterday. A local university student, Egea said the employment situation in his own country, Spain, was not very good.

The fair, held at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, attracted nearly 10,000 students from local universities and about 100 foreign-invested companies.

Students said they were expecting a starting salary of at least 4,000 yuan (US$640), up 225 yuan from the actual average salary of this year's graduates which was revealed in September by China International Intellectech (Shanghai) Corp.

"In line with the students' wishes, foreign-invested companies will likely raise their starting salary slightly for graduates in 2013 due to the rising consumer price index in China," said Zhu Shibo, manager of the recruitment service center and talent resource at CIIC Shanghai Foreign Enterprises Service Co, the organizer of the job fair.

"The increase is fueled by the rising CPI. As we know, many companies continue to maintain a cautious stand on raising salaries for new employees under the current financial environment," Zhu said.

A senior student, surnamed Lin, applied for a position at the credit card center of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank yesterday. Lin told Shanghai Daily she would be satisfied if she could land a job in the bank with a starting salary of about 5,000 yuan.

"My lowest expectation is no less than 4,000 yuan because my college degree deserves that amount. Otherwise, my parents and friends would look down upon me," Lin claimed.

Foreign faces were also seen at the fair as many overseas students sought opportunities to find a job in Shanghai after graduation.

Andres Acosta Egea, who holds dual Spanish and Costa Rican nationality, applied with some 10 companies yesterday. Egea, 24, is doing his master's degree in international finance and is expected to graduate next July.

"Shanghai is an important financial city. There are a lot of opportunities here," he said, adding that the employment situation in his own country, Spain, was not very good. About 30 percent of graduates don't have a job.

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