China’s four big state banks are looking to recruit tens of thousands of fresh graduates, despite grappling with loan losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

These banks include the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China (BOC), and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bloomberg reported.

ICBC already began its campus hiring, which is normally scheduled in November every year. The lender plans to hire 18,000 graduates this year.

CCB will recruit 16,000 graduates, up from 13,000 last year.

BOC advertised a 15% increase in hiring with plans to employ over 10,000 fresh graduates.

ABC said it has already hired 4,500 people during its spring round.

The banks are looking to hire fresh graduates for customer service, wealth management, and information technology (IT) roles, the report added.

Bank of Communications research institute analyst Tang Jianwei said: “This is in direct response to the government’s call to protect jobs.

“Even though the big banks are facing pressure on their own earnings, they still need people to develop the business. Also, it’s important for them to assume social responsibility.”

Currently, these banks collectively employ 1.6 million people in the country, according to the Bloomberg report.

China intends to bolster the nation’s employment rate by enlisting the big four state banks to hire more people.

However, the latest additions will not be enough because as many as 8.7 million graduates are currently facing the toughest job market in decades due to the pandemic, stated the report.

To aid in the recovery, the government has increased the hiring of post-graduates, promote entrepreneurship among young people, and more.

Other state-run lenders have promised to collectively offer at least one million jobs to various groups, including graduates.