"Not being able to find a job is already a loss of face, applying for a minimum living allowance just makes things worse," said Qi Xinming, who has graduated from the Henan Agricultural University this year.

Qi, who is still hunting for jobs, said he would make some money by doing part-time jobs rather than register as unemployed and apply for the allowance.

A notice released in June by a number of ministries including education and labor and social security, said this year's college graduates who cannot find jobs can register as unemployed and apply for a minimum living allowance after September 1.

Minimum living allowances, provided for needy families, differ from city to city. Beijing's minimum living allowance is 310 yuan (38 U.S. dollars) per month. In Zhengzhou, provincial capital of Henan Province, it is 220 yuan (27 U.S.dollars) per month.

A student surnamed Ma, who completed a master's degree at the Zhengzhou University this year, said the policy can ease the psychological pressure on graduating students as they hunt for jobs but is only a short-term expedient.

Exploding student rolls in Chinese colleges and universities in recent years have caused fiercer job-hunting competition among graduates.

The employment rate of graduating Chinese college students stands at 73 percent, according to Lai Desheng, director of the labor market research center with the Beijing Normal University.

But many unemployed college graduates are reluctant to apply for minimum living allowances.

According to an official with the Xuanwu District Civil Affairs Bureau in Beijing, no graduating college student has come to the bureau to apply for a minimum living allowance.

Civil affairs sources with Zhengzhou and Chengdu, the provincial capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, said they had not received any such applications from college graduates over the past month.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)