The CCP is about to start its annual recruitment of new staff and this year, it's got a whopping 15,000 positions, says the Ministry of Human Resoruces and Social Security. Part of the battle against unemployment rates, wethinks? The ministry will start taking in applications from October 15 to 24, they're hoping for people with "grassroots working experience." Unfortunately, foreigners can't apply - but if you were wondering why your Chinese friends are suddenly scrambling to get their CVs in order... well, now you know. more ›

Suicides are already the main cause of college deaths in Shanghai and it looks like the terrible job market is only going to make that statistic more prominent. According to the Telegraph, a wave of suicides have swept the nation as one in three of this year's graduates ahve been unable to find a job. These recent out-of-college kids are being added to the 1.5 million from last year who are still out of work. While the government has been trying to combat the unemployment rate by offering positions as teachers or low-level officials in rural areas, those jobs hardly seem worth the four years of effort and tuition fees graduates racked up, especially if they did it to escape the countryside in the first place. It's a tough situation to weather and the only suggestion we can think of is that maybe one more piece of China's grand economic stimulus should be devoted to mental health helplines. more ›

According to ESWN, the "obtained employment" internet meme sprung from a July 12 post by a netizen on a Tianya Forum which said "I have just obtained employment. I have obtained employment. I am ecstatic. I have obtained employment without knowing the facts!" The netizen, who had just graduated, was having his file transferred to a HR center when he took a peek and found a "Employment agreement document" already red stamped. After reading the contents, "I was immediately stunned... The agreement documented stated the name of my employer in black and white, next to a big red stamp of that employer." An employer he had never heard of. Why would the university do this to him? To meet a quota by the Ministry of Education that forces them to be responsible for finding employment for their students. Since institutes with low employment-on-graduation rates need to accept fewer students, some have taken the shortcut of just stamping "obtained employment" on their wards' forms. more ›