Job security, high salaries and opportunities for self-development are the top three factors that Chinese urban residents consider when choosing a job, a survey shows.

Less than one-third are satisfied with their current jobs, the survey concluded. Apart from one quarter who are unemployed, the rest feel either dissatisfied or ambivalent, the survey showed.

Beijing Mainland Marketing Research Co surveyed 11,000 people over 18 years old in 31 municipalities, capitals of provinces and autonomous regions in November about their employment situation and attitude toward choosing jobs.

According to the survey, residents with high educational backgrounds were more prone to be satisfied with their jobs.

If residents were given a chance to choose a new job, 41.3 per cent of those surveyed mentioned job security as a top priority.

That was followed by a good salary, chosen by 36.6 per cent, while an opportunity for self-development was selected by 27.9 per cent of respondents.

The survey found a steady job means more than anything to middle-aged people, while the group between 18 and 29 seemed to value the opportunity for self-development more.

"That's exactly what I am arguing with my parents about,'' said Lin Nan, a senior at college, who faces the pressure of finding employment this year.

Lin said she prefers a job which can lead to seeing the world and where she can be paid higher than securer jobs like government bureaucrats or teachers. But her parents are insisting she should take a job that pays less but provides all kinds of security and stability.

"My parents argue they worry I might become jobless whenever the economy is not good, since the government can no longer guarantee everyone will have a job and the current employment situation is so uncertain,'' Lin said.

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