(Yicai Global) Jan. 6 -- Chinese university students who graduated last year are receiving an average starting salary of CNY5,825 (USD914) a month, more than those who graduated in 2019 before the Covid-19 outbreak, Guangming Daily reported on Jan. 4, citing a recent survey.

Those who graduated with a Masters’ degree are getting on average CNY10,113 (USD1,586) a month while those with a PhD are earning CNY14,823, according to the survey conducted by Beijing’s Peking University.

Remuneration levels vary a lot depending on the school the graduates went to, the subjects they chose and where they work, according to the survey which started in June last year and polled over 20,000 people from 34 colleges across 19 provinces and provincial-level areas.

Those who graduate from top universities earn the most. Topic also matters. Engineering graduates tend to be the biggest earners, followed by those who major in sciences. Two popular subjects, economics and management, did not show any advantage in income levels.

Where you work is also a factor. Those with jobs in cities along the country’s developed eastern coast earned an average monthly wage of CNY7,620 (USD1,200), while those in the western regions earned CNY5,520.

Some 32.1 percent of college graduates had found jobs when polled, down 5.3 percentage points from 2019. Around 29 percent opted to continue with higher education, some 4 percent more than in 2019. Just under 8 percent decided not to look for work immediately, up 1.8 percentage points from 2019.

Master and PhD graduates found work more easily, with 64.5 percent of those with a Masters’ degree and 54.6 percent of those with a doctorate being employed when surveyed.

Some 73.8 percent of last year’s graduates found work in the private sector, the survey said. The majority were employed in the education sector, followed by manufacturing, information technology, finance and scientific research. These five sectors provided jobs to 58.6 percent of graduates.

Editor: Kim Taylor