Tight job market a challenge for candidates

More than 40 candidates are competing for each job in the first quarter of this year, putting great pressure on job seekers, according to a report released on Thursday.

The report, released by Zhaopin, an online recruitment company, is based on a survey performed in 37 major cities including the municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai, Chengdu, Sichuan province and Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

"The competition is rather fierce in the first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai. I have sent 20-plus resumes to construction companies in Shanghai since September," said Xie Zhixing, a new graduate in civil engineering from Shanghai Tongji University.