China produces more university graduates than any other country in the world; over six million this year alone. Now finding employment for that number of jobseekers is a headache at any time - never mind in the present economic climate - so competition is tough. All this would seem to point to a market where employers can pick and choose and those who get jobs will do their best to hang onto them.

But surprisingly, as BON's Andrew Livingstone reports, many bosses are finding their new recruits' loyalty is not what they expected.

Beijing's new graduates can now breathe a little easier. According to a recent survey, the average monthly salary for recent graduates in Beijing is expected to rise.

Starting pay for new graduates in all industries dropped last year as a direct result of the financial crisis. Consequently, those entering the job market had lower expectations. But there is now some good news for fresh graduates – at least in the capital.

A recent survey of five thousand companies across the country shows the average monthly salary for Beijing's new grads is expected to rise from about 390 dollars a month to 410 dollars. Those companies include state-owned, private and multinational companies.

China’s large number of skilled university graduates is competing for a smaller pool of jobs. So some are turning to other professions outside their expertise. Andrew Livingstone reports on a group of graduates taking up a radically different type of work.

It's a familiar routine for graduates all over the world: moving to the big city in search of employment. But with China's increasingly competitive workplace and millions still looking for a job, those who do have work find it hard to move up the ladder.

Just over a mile from the Bird's Nest in Beijing live a group of university graduates known as "ants." The term was coined in a book called "Ant Tribe" about this sub-culture group published at the end of last year by Dr. Lian Si of Peking University.

Dr. Lian says they're called ants because they're clever, weak and live in groups, with an estimated one million ants in China, of which around a tenth are in the capital, centered around a high-density area called Erlizhuang. Just starting out their careers, these ants live 6 or 8 to a room to save money.

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Now the recession has hit job markets the world over, and for young graduates job hunting has never been tougher. But with job prospects bleak at home, some young foreigners are looking at a move to China as a possible solution to the employment crunch.

Since the times of Confucius, Chinese culture has revered education. But higher education doesn't always translate into higher earnings. In 2009, average first time earnings for a bachelor degree holder were just 1,900 yuan - or about $275 a month.

For those with master's degrees the figure rose to a hardly inspiring $400. And with the number of new graduates expected to reach 6.3 million this year - even more competition in the graduate job market this year could push those salaries even lower.

Now while there are signs that China's job market is stepping out of the economic downturn, most companies prefer skilled employees to fresh graduates who'll need expensive training. And today's students aren't demanding. Most want a job which will cover their basic living expenses.

But even those modest goals seem out of reach. The $300 dollar per month salaries typically on offer are lower than the national average - even lower than those of a construction worker.

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