MORE than 62 percent of local graduates had either signed employment contracts, or were going abroad for study or work, education authorities said yesterday.

The number was down slightly from the same period last year.

There are about 177,000 students graduating this year — roughly the same as last year, according to the Shanghai Education Commission. The lower employment rate did not surprise education officials as over 60 percent of the 120,602 jobs available for them were offered by small companies.