Graduates in Shenzhen are expecting lower salaries due to the economic downturn and increasingly fierce competition, according to a survey of would-be graduates at the city's annual job fair last weekend.

Nearly half of the job-hunters at the 2009 College Graduates Job Fair said they would work for 2,500 yuan (US$366) or less a month, and more than 20 percent said they would be happy to work for 2,000 yuan or less, according to a survey conducted by organizer of the job fair.

A Shenzhen University student majoring in human resources said she would accept 2,000 yuan a month. Last year, human resources graduates asked for at least 3,000 yuan a month.

Graduate students, who set their eyes on jobs offering more than 5,000 yuan last year, lowered their monthly expectation to 4,000 yuan this year.

Over 150,000 students packed the job fair on Saturday, competing for some 20,000 job openings offered by more than 400 corporations. That averaged out to seven students competing for one vacancy.

(CRIENGLSIH.com November 5, 2008)