CHINESE college graduates increasingly favor second-tier cities over mega ones such as Beijing and Shanghai due to the latter’s high living costs and tough job markets, the China Daily reported yesterday.

Data from Zhaopin, an online recruitment platform, showed that 44 percent of new graduates this year wish to find their jobs in second-tier cities, while only about 30 percent hope to work in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.

The newspaper cited a recent report by the Beijing Municipal Education Commission as saying that more than 231,000 college students graduated from universities in Beijing last year, but 37.5 percent of employed graduates chose to work outside the capital.

According to the platform, college students have higher expectations of working in second-tier cities like Chengdu, Hangzhou and Wuhan, which have unveiled preferential policies for newcomers. (Xinhua)