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China Labor Market Competition Continuing to Ease in the Third Quarter of 2016
[October 26, 2016]

China Labor Market Competition Continuing to Ease in the Third Quarter of 2016


BEIJING, Oct. 26, 2016 /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 lifecycles, released its 2016  third quarter report on China labor market supply and demand for white-collar workers. The report found that competition for white-collar workers continued to ease in the third quarter of 2016 with an average of 38 applications per vacancy, down from 45 in the second quarter of 2016.

China Third-Quarter White-Collar Labor Market Highlights:

  • Competition for white-collar jobs continued to relieve in the third quarter of 2016, with an average of 38 applications per vacancy, down from 45 in the second quarter of 2016.
  • Beijing was still the most competitive city, with 78.5 applications per vacancy, up from 74.2 in the second quarter.
  • The most competitive sector for job seekers in the third quarter of 2016 was online games, with 79.7 applications per vacancy.
  • Software/internet development/system integration was the most competitive occupation, with 105.5 applications per vacancy.
  • The average salary has been on the rise since the start of 2016, reaching RMB7,531 in the third quarter of 2016, up from RMB7,233 in the second quarter.
  • Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay at an average monthly salary of RMB9,886, followed by RMB9,642 in Shanghai, RMB8,582 in Shenzhen and RMB7,798 in Guangzhou.

Overall market supply and demand for white-collar workers

Zhaopin publishes the competitive index for the labor market based on data collected from its online platform. The competitive index is calculated with the number of resume applications divided by the number of job vacancies. For the third quarter of 2016, the competitive index was 37.8, which means there were an average of 38 applications per job vacancy.

The competition in the white-collar labor market has been waning since the start of this year. The competitive index declined to 37.8 in the third quarter of 2016, down from 45.1 in the second quarter and 48.0 in the first quarter. Even with college graduates entering the labor market in the third quarter, the job competition continued to ease as more white-collar workers held on to their jobs, waiting for year-end bonuses.





Competitive index 2015-2016

Quarter

Competitive index

Q4 2015

36.8

Q1 2016

48.0

Q2 2016

45.1

Q3 2016

37.8


(Competitive index = number of applications/number of job vacancies)

Beijing was still the most competitive city for white collar workers, with a competitive index of 78.5 in the third quarter of 2016, followed by Chengdu (52.8), Shenyang (50.9), and Shenzhen (48.7). Except for a few cities such as Beijing and Kunming where the competition intensified in the third quarter, most cities saw the job competition weakening in the third quarter.

Competitive index for cities in the third quarter of 2016

Ranking

City

Index

Ranking

City

Index

1

Beijing

78.5

18

Wuhan

24.9

2

Chengdu

52.8

19

Zhengzhou

23.8

3

Shenyang

50.9

20

Wuxi

23.6

4

Shenzhen

48.7

21

Qingdao

23.1

5

Shanghai

42.3

22

Guiyang

22.9

6

Dalian

40.5

23

Shijiazhuang

21.9

7

Tianjin

37.9

24

Hangzhou

21

8

Guangzhou

36.9

25

Hefei

19.3

9

Xi'an

35.2

26

Jinan

19

10

Suzhou

32

27

Yantai

16.1

11

Harbin

31.1

28

Fuzhou

14.7

12

Changchun

30.1

29

Nanning

14.2

13

Nanjing

29.3

30

Dongguan

14.1

14

Chongqing

29.1

31

Xiamen

13.9

15

Taiyuan

28.5

32

Nanchang

13.4

16

Changsha

27.8

33

Foshan

12.6

17

Kunming

27.3

34

Ningbo

11.6

Competitive index = number of applications/number of job vacancies

From job postings in the third quarter of 2016, first-tier cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, had the most demand for white-collar workers. The demand was also brisk in regional business centers and emerging first-tier cities, including Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin, Xi'an, Nanjing and Wuhan.

Top ten cities with most job demand in the third quarter of 2016

Ranking

City

1

Beijing

2

Shanghai

3

Shenzhen

4

Guangzhou

5

Zhengzhou

6

Chengdu

7

Tianjin

8

Xi'an

9

Nanjing

10

Wuhan

The top ten cities with the most job applications were almost the same as cities with the most job demand, indicating that cities with more job demand were also more attractive to job seekers. Shenyang was an exception in the top ten  list. With a struggling economy, Shenyang had relatively more job seekers, leading to a more competitive job market.

Top ten cities with most job applications in the third quarter of 2016

Ranking

City

1

Beijing

2

Shanghai

3

Shenzhen

4

Guangzhou

5

Chengdu

6

Tianjin

7

Xi'an

8

Zhengzhou

9

Nanjing

10

Shenyang

In terms of employer size, companies with 1,000 to 9,999 employees were the most competitive for job seekers, with an index of 44.8, followed by 42.6 for companies with 500 to 999 employees. The competition was relatively low for large companies with over 10,000 employees and small companies with under 100 employees. With slowing growth, large companies were less attractive to job seekers. Small companies had some trouble attracting talents due to low brand recognition.

Competitve index for different size companies in third quarter 2016

Size of Company

Index

Below 20

26.4

20-99

32.7

100-499

42.4

500-999

42.6

1,000-9,999

44.8

Over 10,000

36.6

Supply and demand by sector

According to Zhaopin's online database, the top ten sectors with the most job demand remained largely unchanged in the third quarter of 2016 from the second quarter. The fast-growing internet/e-commerce sector is still on top with the most job vacancies, followed by funds/securities/futures/investment, and real estate/construction/building materials/engineering.

Top 10 sectors with the most job demand in the  third quarter of 2016

Ranking

Sector

1

Internet/e-commerce

2

Funds/securities/futures/investment

3

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

4

Education/training/college

5

Computer software

6

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

7

Trade/export and import

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 third quarter of 2016 was online games, with 79.7 applications per vacancy, followed by 54.2 for real estate/construction/building materials/engineering, and 46.7 for IT services (system/data/maintenance). For the online games sector, applications far exceeded the vacancies, leading to the fiercest competition.

Top 10 most competitive sectors in third quarter 2016

Ranking

Sector

Index

Ranking in second quarter

1

Online games

79.7

1

2

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

54.2

2

3

IT services (system/data/maintenance)

46.7

20

4

Internet/e-commerce

46.5

10

5

Computer software

45.2

23

6

Aviation/aerospace research and manufacturing

44.1

3

7

Energy/mineral/mining/smelting

43.6

4

8

Cross-industry operation

43.6

11

9

Environmental protection

43.0

5

10

Telecom/carrier operators/value-added service

42.0

21

Insurance was the least competitive sector in the third quarter, with 13.6 applications per vacancy, followed by 22.2 for intermediary service and 24.2 for office supplies and equipment.

Least competitive sectors in third quarter 2016

Sector

Index

Insurance

13.6

Intermediary service

22.2

Office supplies and equipment

24.2

Printing/packaging/papermaking

24.4

Banking

24.6

Outsourcing service

25.0

Trust/warrant/auction/pawn

26.0

Leasing service

26.4

Entertainment/sports/leisure

27.1

Healthcare/nursing/beauty

27.9

The sectors with the most job applications in the third quarter included internet/e-commerce, real estate/construction/building materials/engineering, and computer software. Job seekers should not stampede to hot sectors, advised Zhaopin experts. They should select industries that appeal to and suit them.

Top 10 sectors with the most job applications in third quarter 2016

Ranking

Sector

1

Internet/e-commerce

2

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

3

Computer software

4

Funds/securities/futures/investment

5

Education/training/college

6

IT services (system/data/maintenance)

7

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

8

Trade/export and import

9

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

10

Media/publishing/movie and TV/culture communications

Supply and demand by occupation

The top occupations with the most vacancies for white collar workers in the third quarter included sales, administration/logistics/secretary, and software/internet development/system integration.

Top 10 occupations with the most job demand in third quarter 2016

Ranking

Occupation

1

Sales

2

Administration/logistics/secretary

3

Software/internet development/system integration

4

Sales management

5

Finance/auditing/tax

6

Customer service/pre-sales and after-sales support

7

Education/training

8

Human resources

9

Marketing

10

Internet product/operation management

The most competitive occupation in the third quarter of 2016 was software/internet development/system integration with 105.5 applications per vacancy, followed by 75.3 for finance/auditing/tax, and 74.6 for civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering.

Top 10 most competitive occupations in third quarter 2016

Ranking

Occupation

Index

Ranking in second quarter

1

Software/internet development/system integration

105.5

8

2

Finance/auditing/tax

75.3

1

3

Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering

74.6

2

4

IT quality management/testing/configuration management

66.1

14

5

Senior management

65.7

5

6

Human resources

60.1

4

7

Transportation services

58.0

3

8

Administration/logistics/secretary

50.1

9

9

Purchasing/trade

50.0

6

10

Art/design

43.6

27

The least competitive occupations in the third quarter of 2016 were healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding with 9.4 applications per vacancy, followed by 10.2 for community/residency/housekeeping, and 11.1 for insurance.

Least competitive occupations in third quarter 2016

Occupation

Index

Healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding

9.4

Community/residency/housekeeping

10.2

Insurance

11.1

Cooking/catering/food R&D

13.0

Sales

14.5

Mechanic/operator

15.5

Trust/warrant/auction/pawn

17.0

Hospital/medical care/nursing

18.3

Consulting/research/data analysis

19.2

Farming/forestry/animal husbandry/fishery

19.5

The occupation with the most job applications in the third quarter of 2016 was software/internet development/system integration. Finance/auditing/tax, and administration/logistics/secretary were ranked second and third, respectively.

Top 10 occupations with the most job applications in third quarter 2016

Ranking

Occupation

1

Software/internet development/system integration

2

Finance/auditing/tax

3

Administration/logistics/secretary

4

Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal Engineering

5

Human resources

6

Sales

7

Art/design

8

Internet product/operation management

9

Sales management

10

Purchasing/trade

Salary analysis

Based on online job postings in 34 key cities compiled by Zhaopin, the average monthly salary in the third quarter of 2016 was RMB7,531, up from RMB7,233 in the second quarter. The average salary has been on the rise since the beginning of this year. Employers had to offer higher salaries to attract talent as the increase in job demand had exceeded the growth of job seekers.

Average monthly salary 2015-2016

Quarter

Average salary (yuan)

Change over previous quarter

Q4 2015

6,756

0.8%

Q1 2016

7,018

3.9%

Q2 2016

7,233

3.1%

Q3 2016

7,531

4.1%

Among job postings in the third quarter, 31.4% of positions offered salaries between RMB4,001 to 6,000, and 27.7% offered salaries of more than RMB8,000. Only 20.7% of positions offered salaries below RMB4,000.

Breakdown of positions by salaries in the third quarter of 2016

Salary (yuan)

Percentage of positions

Over 8,000

27.7%

6,001 to 8,000

20.7%

4,001 to 6,000

31.4%

2,001 to 4,000

18.6%

Below 2,000

1.6%

Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay in the third quarter of 20-16, at an average monthly salary of RMB 9,886 yuan, followed by RMB9,642 in Shanghai, RMB8,582 in Shenzhen and RMB7,798 in Guangzhou.

Average salary for cities in third quarter 2016

Ranking

City

Average salary

Ranking

City

Average salary

1

Beijing

9,886

18

Kunming

6,522

2

Shanghai

9,642

19

Guiyang

6,507

3

Shenzhen

8,582

20

Zhengzhou

6,385

4

Guangzhou

7,798

21

Dalian

6,381

5

Hangzhou

7,669

22

Hefei

6,379

6

Dongguan

7,314

23

Nanchang

6,293

7

Xiamen

7,158

24

Tianjin

6,292

8

Ningbo

7,125

25

Changsha

6,271

9

Nanjing

7,085

26

Jinan

6,265

10

Foshan

7,071

27

Qingdao

6,217

11

Suzhou

6,956

28

Shijiazhuang

6,169

12

Chengdu

6,953

29

Shenyang

6,168

13

Chongqing

6,789

30

Taiyuan

5,962

14

Wuxi

6,743

31

Xi'an

5,947

15

Fuzhou

6,611

32

Yantai

5,917

16

Nanning

6,599

33

Harbin

5,728

17

Wuhan

6,527

34

Changchun

5,523

The best-paying sector in the third quarter of 2016 continued to be professional service/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.) with an average salary of RMB10,771, followed by RMB9,966 for online games and RMB9,304 for cross-industry operation.

Top 10 highest paid sectors in the third quarter of 2016

Sector

Average salary

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

10,771

Online games

9,966

Cross-industry operation

9,304

Funds/securities/futures/investment

9,201

Intermediary service

8,899

Energy/mineral/mining/smelting

8,821

Communications/telecom/network equipment

8,617

Academic/R&D

8,304

Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering

8,171

Banking

8,158

The top three occupations with the highest salaries in the third quarter of 2016 were senior management (RMB18,946), IT management/project coordination (RMB14,575) and securities/futures/investment management/services (RMB10,675), which was the same as the previous quarter.

Top 10 highest paid occupations in the third quarter of 2016

Occupation

Average salary

Senior management

18,946

IT management/project coordination

14,575

Securities/futures/investment management/service

10,675

Sales management

10,547

Trust/warrant/auction/pawn

10,324

Software/internet development/system integration

9,881

Project management/project coordination

9,634

Banking

9,561

Real estate development/broker/agency

9,362

Hardware development

9,139

Among different types of companies, joint ventures offered the highest average salary of RMB8,313, higher than RMB7,783 from wholly foreign-owned enterprises and RMB7,560 from private companies. The average salary of public institutions was the lowest at RMB7,173.

Average salaries from different types of companies in the third quarter of 2016

Type of Company

Average salary

Joint ventures

8,313

Wholly foreign-owned enterprises

7,783

Private companies

7,560

Public companies

7,552

State-owned enterprises

7,390

Public institutions

7,173

The average salary of micro-sized companies with fewer than 20 employees was RMB8,981, 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 salaries from different size companies in the third quarter of 2016

Size of company

Average salary

Below 20

8,981

20-99

7,862

100-499

7,643

500-999

7,682

1,000-9,999

7,495

Above 10,000

7,627

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 June 30, 2016, number of registered users as of June 30, 2016 and number of unique customers[2] for the three months ended June 30, 2016. The Company's over 120.0 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 June 30, 2016, the number of registered users as of June 30, 2016 and the number of unique customers for the three months ended June 30, 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-labor-market-competition-continuing-to-ease-in-the-third-quarter-of-2016-300351492.html

SOURCE Zhaopin Limited


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