(Yicai Global) June 13 -- Chinese university students who graduated in 2020 and 2021 saw a smaller increase in their starting salary during the pandemic, according to a new report. The rise was 4 percent on average, down from 7 percent for those who graduated in 2018 and 2019. 

Students at higher vocational schools who graduated in 2020 and 2021 had an average salary gain of 3 percent, down from 6 percent for those who qualified in 2018 and 2019, said the report from higher education data provider and consultancy Mycos.

University students who graduated in 2021 earned CNY5,833 (USD866.70) each month on average last year, and those who took higher vocational education earned CNY4,505, the report showed.

Graduates working in the economically developed Yangtze River delta region had a monthly starting salary of CNY6,484 on average, with CNY4,984 for graduates from higher vocational schools.

In the Pearl River Delta region, another economic powerhouse, the monthly starting salary was CNY6,431, and it averaged CNY4,784 among graduates from higher vocational schools. The figures in the two regions were the highest nationwide.

Students majoring in computer science were the highest earners, with the 2020 leavers earning a median CNY6,886 a month. For graduates of higher vocational schools, those majoring in rail transport had the biggest monthly pay packets at CNY5,280 each.

Micro, small and mid-sized businesses remained the main employers of graduates. Among the 2021 university graduates polled, 46 percent work in companies with 300 staff or less, down slightly from the previous two years, and for those graduating from higher vocational schools, the proportion was 63 percent.

Support is needed to stabilize the employment rate among university grads, the Mycos report said, adding that micro firms and SMEs hire many graduates but have limited ability to manage risk. 

As many as 10.76 million students will graduate from higher education institutions this year, according to the education ministry, topping the 10 million mark for the first time. 

Last month, the State Council's general office announced support measures to promote employment among the young, including social insurance premium subsidies and secured loans for startups, as well as tax cuts and exemptions for micros firms and SMEs that hire more graduates.

Editors: Xu Wei, Tom Litting