GUANGZHOU: Four State-owned banks offering about 2,000 vacancies for university graduates next year attracted more than 18,000 candidates in a job fair in this capital of Guangdong province on Monday.

That means an average of nine students will have to compete for each opening.

Li Chuanfang, deputy director of Guangdong provincial bureau of talent, said Guangdong's employment market is still tough for university graduates, despite signs of an economic recovery this year.

Li urged graduates to get a job first before thinking about their professional career paths.

Statistics show more than 390,000 students will graduate from universities and colleges in Guangdong in the coming year, 60,000 more than this year.

More than 6.3 million students are expected to graduate from universities and colleges nationwide in 2010.