While Shanghai tries to lure top overseas professionals, representatives of 247 companies in Zhejiang will be visiting the city to attract some its workers to the province.

Zhejiang is offering more than 5,000 jobs at a fair to be held in Shanghai on Saturday.

The province is seeking managers, administrative directors, executive vice-presidents and vice-presidents.

"There are 50 to 60 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Wenzhou participating at this job fair, with several hundred positions available," Zhou Dewen, chairman of the Wenzhou SMEs development promotion federation, said on Wednesday.

"Wenzhou is keen on attracting professionals from Shanghai," Zhou said.

He said it is part of an overall plan to attract 600,000 mid- to high-level professionals.

"Although many SMEs have been hit by a drop in overseas orders due to the current financial crisis, it is still of vital importance to recruit and retain good people," Zhou said.

Zhejiang is offering a number of perks in its recruit drive - granting of residential status, subsidized education for children, and spouse employment. "We are offering a salary package 10 to 15 percent higher than anywhere else in China," Zhou said.

The Shanghai University of Finance & Economics (SUFE) has urged its students to attend the job fair.

Ruan Shan, a second-year SUFE student majoring in tourism management, said that her schoolmates, mostly finance majors, are suffering greatly from the global financial crisis.

"Even those few corporations that are continuing to recruit, have drastically cut down on numbers," she said.

Although there is still more than six months to go before graduation, Ruan and her classmates have attended many job interviews, but have received no offers.

Ruan said she will attend the job fair. "I have lowered my expectations. All I want is just a job here, so long as it pays about 3,000 yuan, (US$440) after tax," she said.

(China Daily December 4, 2008)