College graduates ask about vacancies at a job fair in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province in this photo taken on April 23, 2006. [newsphoto]

With the trees in bloom and the sun shining, students strolling the grounds of Beijing's leafy university campuses shouldn't have a care in the world.

They've marked themselves out as China's best and brightest by winning coveted places in college and are graduating into a country experiencing breakneck economic growth, social change and cultural revival.

So why is Bai Yun worried?

The 21-year-old will soon have a degree in computer automation, but he's still struggling to find work, one of a growing number graduating only to face the unthinkable prospect of unemployment.

"When we pass the test and finally get into university, none of us consider what kind of work we might be able to get three or four years later when we graduate," he said.

But with about 750,000 more students graduating into the workforce this year compared to last, the competition is getting tougher, leaving the 20-somethings whose studies have often left them with little practical know-how floundering to find work.

"University students want to find an ideal job, but they don't really understand how society works. In reality they don't know what kind of job would be suitable," said Bai.

"And the competition is fierce."

The spectre of unemployment is not only a worry for the students, but also for the government.

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