An increasing number of college graduates are no longer considering first-tier cities as their primary career destinations. Instead, they are turning their attention to county-level areas, sparking a new trend of employment in small towns and below.
According to data from the Michael Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as Michael), the focus of university graduates' employment continues to shift downwards, with one-fourth of fresh graduates choosing to work in "county towns," and five years after graduation, "county towns" retain 20% of university graduates.
Looking at the data from the past five years, the proportion of undergraduate students employed in "county towns" six months after graduation has increased significantly, rising from 20% in the 2018 cohort to 25% in the 2022 cohort, an increase of 5 percentage points. Among them, the proportion of male students increased from 19% in the 2018 cohort to 24% in the 2022 cohort, while the proportion of female students increased from 22% in the 2018 cohort to 27% in the 2022 cohort.
Among them, over one-third of female students are engaged in the "education sector," while males have a higher proportion in the "government and public administration" industry. The "education sector" (23.6%) and "government and public administration" (14.9%) are the top two industries where 2022 undergraduate graduates in "county towns" are employed. Female graduates employed in "county towns" are mainly in the "education sector" (35.2%) and "government and public administration" (14.6%). Among male graduates employed in "county towns," the highest proportion is in "government and public administration" (15.3%), followed by "construction" (10.4%) and "education sector" (9.6%).
According to further analysis by Maikosi on the types of employers for undergraduate students employed in "county towns" in 2022, they exhibit a notably higher proportion of securing "iron rice bowls": the proportion working in "government agencies/research or other public institutions" (40%) exceeds the national undergraduate average (22%) by 18 percentage points. Subsequently, they mainly find employment in "private enterprises/individuals" (36%), yet this figure falls 15 percentage points below the national undergraduate average (51%).
How is the employment quality of college students working in "county towns"? Maikosi's data indicates that this group has seen a steady increase in monthly income, rising from ¥4,640 for the 2018 cohort to ¥5,377 for the 2022 cohort, marking a growth of ¥737. Regarding job satisfaction, it has risen from 67% for the 2018 cohort to 76% for the 2022 cohort, an increase of 9 percentage points. The proportion of relevance to their majors has remained stable, ranging from 70% to 71% over the past five cohorts.
Maikosi analyzed the employment locations of undergraduate students five years after graduation (combining the 2016 and 2017 cohorts). The data reveals that 20% of undergraduate students choose to work in "county towns," among which nearly three-fifths (59%) have been working in "county towns" continuously within the five years after graduation, while approximately four-tenths (41%) came to work in county towns after working elsewhere for some time.
What are the characteristics of career development for university graduates working in "county towns" five years after graduation? Maikosi's research finds that although this group does not have an advantage in terms of promotion and salary increases, they enjoy higher job stability and greater job satisfaction.
Specifically, five years after graduation, this group's monthly income (¥7,787) and the proportion receiving job promotions (58%) are both lower than the national undergraduate average. However, their job satisfaction rate (80%) is higher (national undergraduate average: 78%), and the average number of employers (1.9) is lower than the national undergraduate average (2.2).
