SHANGHAI: With a looming global financial crisis aggravating the difficulties posed by a fierce job market, many consider the future for the country's fresh college graduates to be bleak.

The number of job hunters from this group entering the market next year is expected to exceed 6 million nationwide, an increase of 7 percent from this year, official figures showed.

"This year, the number of new recruits in our company has halved and most positions are for experienced applicants only," said Carol Cai, an employee of a British market research company.