BEIJING — Beijing has begun resuming on-site job fairs from Sept 1 following months of suspension due to the COVID-19 epidemic, local authorities said.

The return of on-site job fairs comes as Beijing continues to speed up work resumption and bring its economy back on track.

Although the COVID-19 epidemic has waned in China, organizers of offline recruitment activities are required to implement strict anti-virus measures, according to a circular released by Beijing Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

A spokesperson of the bureau said that on-site job fairs should be held in outdoor areas as often as possible, and if indoor recruitment activities are unavoidable, the number of enterprises involved should be strictly controlled.

Job seekers are required to present health codes, wear masks and maintain a social distance of at least one meter when lining up to visit company booths, the spokesperson said.

China registered 8.74 million new college graduates in 2020, up 400,000 from last year and hitting a record high. The colossal number of graduates has meant competition in the job market is even fiercer after the offline recruitment season was interrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Beijing suspended on-site job fairs in late January amid a nationwide call for social distancing measures. Companies have been encouraged to move recruitment online while creating platforms to facilitate the process.