China Labor Market Competition Posted Rise in the Fourth Quarter of 2016

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Zhaopin Limited, a leading career platform1 in China focused on connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their career lifecycles, released its 2016 fourth-quarter report on China labor market supply and demand for white-collar workers. Competition for white-collar workers in the fourth quarter of 2016 reversed the declining trend seen in each of the previous three quarters, and posted the first rise for 2016, during what is normally a slow season for recruitment. Average monthly salary continued the rising trend throughout this year.

China Fourth-Quarter of 2016 White-Collar Labor Market Highlights:

• Competition for white-collar jobs intensified in the fourth quarter of 2016, with an average of 41 applications per vacancy. That was up from both the 37 applications recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015, and the 38 posted in the third quarter of 2016.
• The average monthly salary rose slightly to RMB7,606 in the fourth quarter of 2016, from RMB7,531 in the third quarter of 2016. Salary has been on the rise since the beginning of 2016.
• Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay, at an average monthly salary of RMB9,835, followed by RMB9,720 in Shanghai, RMB8,640 in Shenzhen and RMB7,853 in Guangzhou.
• Beijing was by far the most competitive city, with 93.5 applications per vacancy in the fourth quarter of 2016, up significantly from 78.5 in the third quarter of 2016.
• The most competitive sector for job seekers in the fourth quarter of 2016 was online games, with 70.0 applications per vacancy.
• Software/internet development/system integration was the most competitive occupation in the fourth quarter of 2016, with 145.1 applications per vacancy.