College graduates are expecting their monthly income to increase by at least 500 yuan (US$74) this year, amid growing calls for wage increases among industrial workers countrywide, an employment survey has suggested.

The Chinese College Graduates' Employment Annual Report of 2010 was released by Mycos Corporation on Wednesday.

"The warming economic situation is beginning to show in the employment market," Wang Boqing, president of Mycos, told China Daily.

"Soaring prices might be another reason for college graduates to ask for higher pay," he said.

The latest reports of college graduates' expectations for higher income coincided with rare labor incidents in the country, with industrial workers' demanding significant pay increases.

One of carmaker Honda's key parts factories based in Foshan of Guangdong Province resumed full operations on Wednesday, following a two-week strike over wages that forced Honda to halt production at four assembly plants.

The latest survey covered 220,000 college graduates around the country in 2009.

The report said the graduates' employment rate is 86.6 percent, six months after graduating from colleges in 2009. It showed a slight increase of 1 percent from the figure in 2008.

Graduates from the country's "211 Project" key colleges expect their payment, on average, to be higher than 2,364 yuan a month, an increase of 644 yuan from that of 2009, according to the report.

Students who graduated from common colleges said their monthly payment should be at least 1,980 yuan, an increase of 573 yuan from their expectation last year, the report said.

"With higher income expectation, the resignation rate for college students who worked for six months is high, up to 38 percent," Wang said.

The job quitters, on average, change two jobs in three years, he said.

However, an increasing number of college graduates are able to cope with pressure better and keep a more realistic attitude toward employment before realizing their ideal income this year.

Another survey released by the Beijing Youth Stress Management Service Center last month showed that about 18 percent of college graduates in the country said they will accept a job without pay for up to six months.

Only 1.3 percent of them made the same decision last year.

"We always hear the complaint that college students cannot find a decent job, but we ignore whether they are able to fit the market's need," said Zha Jianzhong, a professor of Beijing Jiaotong University, who also serves as chair of a UNESCO program on cooperation between higher education and industry.

According to Mycos' report, students in 10 majors, including animation, law, international economy and commerce and English, will face high unemployment rates and low income.

The report also said the employment market needs more students who major in certain fields, including geological engineering, petroleum engineering, naval architecture, ocean engineering and coal exploration.

"The country should have a better job alert system to help students choose their major in college," said Jiang Dayuan, a senior official of the vocational education department under the Ministry of Education.

About 10.2 million students registered for the national college entrance exam last year and the number dropped by 740,000 this year, said Dai Jiagan, director of the exam center under the Ministry of Education.

(China Daily June 3, 2010)