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China White-collar Salary Growth Slowed Down in the First Quarter of 2017
[April 11, 2017]

China White-collar Salary Growth Slowed Down in the First Quarter of 2017


BEIJING, April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin Limited (NYSE: ZPIN) ("Zhaopin" or the "Company"), a leading career platform[1] in China focused on connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their career lifecycle, released its 2017 first-quarter report on China labor market supply and demand for white-collar workers. With intensifying competition among white-collar workers for jobs in the first quarter of 2017, the increase in average monthly salaries slowed down significantly.

First-Quarter of 2017 China White-Collar Labor Market Highlights:

  • The average monthly salary edged up only 0.8% to reach RMB7,665 in the first quarter of 2017, from RMB7,606 in the fourth quarter of 2016.
  • Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay, with an average monthly salary of RMB9,942, followed by RMB9,802 in Shanghai, RMB8,892 in Shenzhen and RMB7,996 in Guangzhou.
  • Competition among white-collar workers for jobs heated up in the first quarter of 2017, with an average of 44.6 applications per job vacancy, up from 40.3 applications in the fourth quarter of 2016.
  • Beijing was by far the most competitive city for white-collar workers, with 96.0 applications per vacancy in the first quarter of 2017, followed by Shenzhen (60.5), Chengdu (59.4) and Shanghai (53.3).
  • The most competitive sector for job seekers in the first quarter of 2017 was online games, with 73.0 applications per vacancy.
  • Software/internet development/system integration was the most competitive occupation in the first quarter of 2017, with 136.1 applications per vacancy.

Salary growth slowed down

Based on online job postings in 37 key cities in China compiled by Zhaopin, the average monthly salary in the first quarter of 2017 edged up only 0.8% to reach RMB7,665, from RMB7,606 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The growth of average salaries for white-collar workers hit the brakes during the past two quarters, slowing down from a 4.1% rise in the third quarter of 2016.





Average monthly salary for white-collar workers

Quarter

Average salary (yuan)

Change over previous quarter

Q1 2016

7,018

3.9%

Q2 2016

7,233

3.1%

Q3 2016

7,531

4.1%

Q4 2016

7,606

1.0%

Q1 2017

7,665

0.8%


Among job postings in the first quarter of 2017, 33.0% of positions offered monthly salaries between RMB4,001 to 6,000, and 25.3% offered monthly salaries of more than RMB8,000. About 18.0% of positions offered monthly salaries below RMB4,000.

Breakdown of positions by monthly salaries in the first quarter of 2017

Salary (RMB)

Percentage of positions

Over 8,000

25.3%

6,001 to 8,000

23.8%

4,001 to 6,000

33.0%

2,001 to 4,000

16.4%

Below 2,000

1.6%

Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay in the first quarter of 2017, with an average monthly salary of RMB9,942, followed by RMB9,802 in Shanghai, RMB8,892 in Shenzhen and RMB7,996 in Guangzhou. Foshan in Guangdong Province jumped to 5th in the country, with an average salary reaching RMB7,873.

Average monthly salary for cities in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

City

Average
monthly salary
(RMB)

Ranking

City

Average
monthly salary
(RMB)

1

Beijing

9,942

20

Kunming

6,862

2

Shanghai

9,802

21

Wuhan

6,769

3

Shenzhen

8,892

22

Tianjin

6,733

4

Guangzhou

7,996

23

Lanzhou

6,704

5

Foshan

7,873

24

Zhengzhou

6,692

6

Dongguan

7,862

25

Hefei

6,684

7

Ningbo

7,680

26

Nanchang

6,669

8

Hangzhou

7,608

27

Changsha

6,660

9

Suzhou

7,548

28

Qingdao

6,651

10

Xiamen

7,452

29

Dalian

6,631

11

Haikou

7,407

30

Jinan

6,487

12

Nanjing

7,342

31

Shijiazhuang

6,413

13

Urumqi

7,095

32

Shenyang

6,367

14

Fuzhou

7,073

33

Taiyuan

6,355

15

Guiyang

7,023

34

Yantai

6,274

16

Wuxi

7,021

35

Xi'an

6,197

17

Chongqing

6,971

36

Changchun

6,090

18

Nanning

6,946

37

Harbin

5,915

19

Chengdu

6,941




The best-paying sector in the first quarter of 2017 continued to be professional services/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.) with an average monthly salary of RMB9,947, followed by RMB9,467 for funds/securities/futures/investment and RMB8,995 for banking.

Top 10 highest paid sectors in the first quarter of 2017

Sector

Average monthly
salary (RMB)

Professional service/consulting (finance and
accounting, legal and HR, etc.)

9,947

Funds/securities/futures/investment

9,467

Banking

8,995

Energy/mineral/mining/smelting

8,848

Intermediary service

8,710

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

8,695

Telecom/carrier operators/value-added service

8,660

Cross-industry operation

8,655

Entertainment/sports/leisure

8,493

Academic/R&D

8,289

The top three occupations with the highest monthly salaries in the first quarter of 2017 were senior management (RMB19,493), IT management/project coordination (RMB14,389) and securities/futures/investment management/service (RMB10,958).

Top 10 highest paid occupations in the first quarter of 2017

Occupation

Average monthly
salary (RMB)

Senior management

19,493

IT management/project coordination

14,389

Securities/futures/investment
management/service

10,958

Sales management

10,682

Project management/project coordination

10,055

Real estate development/broker/agency

10,018

Banking

9,671

Trust/warrant/auction/pawn

9,550

Software/internet development/system
integration

9,534

Lawyer/legal/compliance

9,023

Except for joint ventures, the average salaries in other types of companies all went up in the first quarter of 2017. Joint ventures still offered the highest average monthly salary of RMB8,254, compared with RMB8,000 for wholly foreign-owned enterprises and RMB7,766 for public companies. The average monthly salary of public institutions was the lowest at RMB7,528.

Average monthly salaries from different types of companies

in the first quarter of 2017

Type of Company

Average monthly
salary (RMB)

Joint ventures

8,254

Wholly foreign-owned enterprises

8,000

Public companies

7,766

State-owned enterprises

7,715

Private companies

7,577

Public institutions

7,528

The average monthly salary of micro-sized companies with fewer than 20 employees was RMB9,532, much higher than salaries of bigger companies. These micro-sized companies had to offer higher salaries to compete with bigger companies which had more advantages in brand reputation, training and career development.

Average monthly salaries for companies of different sizes

in the first quarter of 2017

Size of company by employee numbers

Average monthly
salary (RMB)

Below 20

9,532

20-99

7,641

100-499

7,561

500-999

7,459

1,000-9,999

7,777

Above 10,000

7,883

Job market competition intensifying for white-collar workers

Zhaopin publishes the quarterly competitive index for the labor market based on data collected from its online platform. The competitive index is calculated based on the number of resume applications divided by the number of job vacancies. For the first quarter of 2017, the competitive index was 44.6, which means there were an average of 45 applications per job vacancy, up from 40.3 in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Competitive index

Quarter

Competitive index

Q1 2016

48.0

Q2 2016

45.1

Q3 2016

37.8

Q4 2016

40.3

Q1 2017

44.6

Competitive index = number of applications/number of job vacancies

Beijing was by far the most competitive city for white-collar workers, with a competitive index of 96.0 in the first quarter of 2017, followed by Shenzhen (60.5), Chengdu (59.4) and Shanghai (53.3).

Competitive index for cities in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

City

Index

Ranking

City

Index

1

Beijing

96.0

20

Wuxi

27.8

2

Shenzhen

60.5

21

Lanzhou

27.6

3

Chengdu

59.4

22

Qingdao

26.7

4

Shanghai

53.3

23

Shijiazhuang

25.6

5

Shenyang

50.8

24

Hefei

25.4

6

Xi'an

48.4

25

Kunming

24.4

7

Dalian

43.2

26

Haikou

23.2

8

Tianjin

42.2

27

Guiyang

22.6

9

Guangzhou

39.1

28

Jinan

21.5

10

Wuhan

39.0

29

Nanchang

20.6

11

Chongqing

39.0

30

Yantai

20.2

12

Changsha

38.6

31

Fuzhou

19.8

13

Suzhou

37.5

32

Xiamen

19.0

14

Nanjing

34.9

33

Urumqi

19.0

15

Hangzhou

33.8

34

Dongguan

18.0

16

Taiyuan

31.5

35

Foshan

17.2

17

Changchun

31.3

36

Nanning

16.1

18

Harbin

31.3

37

Ningbo

15.3

19

Zhengzhou

29.7




Competitive index = number of applications/number of job vacancies

First-tier cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou) were the top four cities with the highest job demand in the first quarter of 2017. Emerging first-tier cities, including Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xi'an, Nanjing and Tianjin, were also among the top ten cities with the highest job demand.

Top ten cities with the highest job
demand

 in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

City

1

Beijing

2

Shanghai

3

Shenzhen

4

Guangzhou

5

Zhengzhou

6

Chengdu

7

Hangzhou

8

Xi'an

9

Nanjing

10

Tianjin

The top ten cities with most job applications in the first quarter of 2017 were the same cities with the highest job demand, indicating that cities with high job demand were also attracting job seekers.

Top ten cities with most job applications

 in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

City

1

Beijing

2

Shanghai

3

Shenzhen

4

Chengdu

5

Guangzhou

6

Xi'an

7

Zhengzhou

8

Hangzhou

9

Tianjin

10

Nanjing

In terms of employer size, companies with 1,000 to 9,999 employees were the most competitive for job seekers, with an index of 54.3, followed by 51.7 for companies with 500 to 999 employees. The competition for positions in small and micro-sized companies was relatively low due to low brand recognition.

Competitive index for different size companies

 in the first quarter of 2017

Size of Company by
employee numbers

Index

Below 20

32.8

20-99

38.1

100-499

48.4

500-999

51.7

1,000-9,999

54.3

Over 10,000

43.8

Supply and demand by sector

In the first quarter of 2017, the booming internet/e-commerce sector still topped the list with the most job vacancies, followed by real estate/construction/building materials/engineering and funds/securities/futures/investment. The top ten sectors with the highest job demand were the same as the previous quarter.

Top ten sectors with the highest job demand in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

Sector

1

Internet/e-commerce

2

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

3

Funds/securities/futures/investment

4

Education/training/college

5

Computer software

6

Trade/export and import

7

Professional service/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.)

8

FMCG (food, drinks, alcohol and tobacco, and chemicals for daily use)

9

Media/publishing/movie and TV/culture communications

10

IT services (system/data/maintenance)

The most competitive sector for job seekers in the first quarter of 2017 was online games, with 73.0 applications per vacancy, followed by 64.3 for real estate/construction/building materials/engineering, and 59.0 for telecom/carrier operators/value-added service.

Top ten most competitive sectors in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

Sector

Index

Ranking in third quarter

1

Online games

73.0

1

2

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

64.3

2

3

Telecom/carrier operators/value-added service

59.0

6

4

Aviation/aerospace research and manufacturing

58.7

5

5

IT services (system/data/maintenance)

55.8

3

6

Computer software

55.0

4

7

Internet/e-commerce

54.3

7

8

Cross-industry operation

52.5

9

9

Energy/mineral/mining/smelting

51.4

10

10

Government/public service/non-profit

50.7

28

Insurance continued to be the least competitive sector in the first quarter of 2017, with 16.7 applications per vacancy, followed by 24.2 for intermediary service and 29.4 for office supplies and equipment.

Least competitive sectors in the first quarter of 2017

Sector

Index

Insurance

16.7

Intermediary service

24.2

Office supplies and equipment

29.4

Printing/packaging/papermaking

30.2

Banking

32.2

Leasing service

32.7

Hotel/restaurant

32.7

Healthcare/nursing/beauty

33.0

Education/training/college

33.5

Trust/warrant/auction/pawn

33.8

The sectors with the most job applications in the first quarter of 2017 included internet/e-commerce, real estate/construction/building materials/engineering, and computer software.

Top ten sectors with the most job applications in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

Sector

1

Internet/e-commerce

2

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

3

Computer software

4

Funds/securities/futures/investment

5

IT services (system/data/maintenance)

6

Education/training/college

7

Professional service/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.)

8

Trade/export and import

9

Media/publishing/movie and TV/culture communications

10

FMCG (food, drinks, alcohol and tobacco, and chemicals for daily use)

Supply and demand by occupation

The top occupations with the most vacancies for white collar workers in the first quarter of 2017 were the same as the fourth quarter of 2016, including sales, administration/logistics/secretary, and sales management.

Top ten occupations with the highest job demand in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

Occupation

1

Sales

2

Administration/logistics/secretary

3

Sales management

4

Software/internet development/system integration

5

Finance/auditing/tax

6

Education/training

7

Human resources

8

Customer service/pre-sales and after-sales support

9

Marketing

10

Internet product/operation management

The most competitive occupation in the first quarter of 2017 was software/internet development/system integration with 136.1 applications per vacancy, followed by 96.0 for finance/auditing/tax, and 92.4 for civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering.

Top 10 most competitive occupations in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

Occupation

Index

Ranking in third quarter

1

Software/internet development/system integration

136.1

1

2

Finance/auditing/tax

96.0

2

3

Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering

92.4

4

4

IT quality management/testing/configuration management

88.1

3

5

Transportation services

73.1

6

6

Senior management

68.6

5

7

Human resources

62.4

7

8

Purchasing/trade

55.0

10

9

Administration/logistics/secretary

53.4

9

10

Art/design

47.4

8

The least competitive occupations in the first quarter of 2017 were healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding with 11.3 applications per vacancy, followed by 13.8 for insurance, and 14.3 for community/residency/housekeeping.

Least competitive occupations in the first quarter of 2017

Occupation

Index

Healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding

11.3

Insurance

13.8

Community/residency/housekeeping

14.3

Sales

15.7

Cooking/catering/food R&D

16.2

Trust/warrant/auction/pawn

16.9

Education/training

18.7

Hospital/medical care/nursing

19.1

Mechanic/operator

19.9

Consulting/research/data analysis

21.5

The top ten occupations with the most job applications in the first quarter of 2017 were the same as in the fourth quarter of 2016 with some changes on rankings.

Top ten occupations with the most job applications in the first quarter of 2017

Ranking

Occupation

1

Software/internet development/system integration

2

Finance/auditing/tax

3

Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering

4

Administration/logistics/secretary

5

Human resources

6

Sales

7

Art/design

8

Internet product/operation management

9

Sales management

10

Purchasing/trade

About Zhaopin Limited

Zhaopin is a leading career platform in China, focusing on connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their career lifecycle. The Company's zhaopin.com website is the most popular career platform in China as measured by average daily unique visitors in each of the 12 months ended December 31, 2016, number of registered users as of December 31, 2016 and number of unique customers[2] for the three months ended December 31, 2016. The Company's over 129.5 million registered users include diverse and educated job seekers who are at various stages of their careers and are in demand by employers as a result of the general shortage of skilled and educated workers in China. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, approximately 36.9 million job postings[3] were placed on Zhaopin's platform by 509,813 unique customers including multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises and state-owned entities. The quality and quantity of Zhaopin's users and the resumes in the Company's database attract an increasing number of customers. This in turn leads to more users turning to Zhaopin as their primary recruitment and career- related services provider, creating strong network effects and significant entry barriers for potential competitors. For more information, please visit http://www.zhaopin.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Zhaopin may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Zhaopin's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: Zhaopin's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to retain and grow its user and customer base for its online career platform; the growth of, and trends in, the markets for its services in China; the demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; competition in its industry in China; its ability to maintain the network infrastructure necessary to operate its website and mobile applications; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry; and its ability to protect its users' information and adequately address privacy concerns. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Zhaopin does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For more information, please contact:

Zhaopin Limited 
Ms. Daisy Wang 
Investor Relations 
[email protected]

ICR Beijing
Mr. Edmond Lococo
Phone: +86 10 6583-7510
[email protected]


[1] Zhaopin's website is the most popular career platform in China as measured by average daily unique visitors in each of the 12 months ended December 31, 2016, the number of registered users as of December 31, 2016 and the number of unique customers for the three months ended December 31, 2016.

[2] A "unique customer" refers to a customer that purchases the Company's online recruitment services during a specified period. Zhaopin makes adjustments for multiple purchases by the same customer to avoid double counting. Each customer is assigned a unique identification number in the Company's information management system. Affiliates and branches of a given customer may, under certain circumstances, be counted as separate unique customers.

[3] Zhaopin calculates the number of job postings by counting the number of newly placed job postings during each respective period. Job postings that were placed prior to a specified period - even if available during such period - are not counted as job postings for such period. Any particular job posting placed on the Company's website may include more than one job opening or position.


 

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-white-collar-salary-growth-slowed-down-in-the-first-quarter-of-2017-300437793.html

SOURCE Zhaopin Limited


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