Zhaopin Limited, a leading career platform in China focused on connecting users with relevant job opportunities through their career lifecycle, released its 2017 third-quarter report on China labor market supply and demand for white-collar workers. While the competition for jobs continued to ease in the third quarter, the average monthly salary for white-collar workers went up to reach RMB7,599, representing a 3% increase over the previous quarter.
Third-Quarter of 2017 China White-Collar Labor Market Highlights:
- The average monthly salary reached RMB7,599 in the third quarter of 2017, up 3% over the second quarter.
- The overall economy was picking up in the third quarter, and emerging first-tier cities were offering higher salaries and subsidies to attract more talent, which pushed up the average monthly salary for white-collar workers in China.
- Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay in the third quarter of 2017, with an average monthly salary of RMB9,900, up from RMB9,791 in the second quarter.
- Competition for jobs among white-collar workers continued to ease in the third quarter of 2017, with an average of 30.4 applications per job vacancy, down from 35.8 applications in the second quarter.
- Online games returned to the top as the most competitive sector for job seekers in the third quarter of 2017, with 50.0 applications per vacancy.
- The most competitive occupation in the third quarter of 2017 was software/internet development/system integration with 101.2 applications per vacancy.
Salaries going up slightly
Based on online job postings in 37 key cities in China compiled by Zhaopin, the average monthly salary in the third quarter of 2017 was RMB7,599, up 3% over the second quarter. The overall economy was picking up in the third quarter, and emerging first-tier cities were offering higher salaries and subsidies to attract more talent, which pushed up the average monthly salary for white-collar workers in China.
|
Average monthly salary for white-collar workers |
||
|
Quarter |
Average salary (RMB) |
Change over previous quarter |
|
Q3 2016 |
7,531 |
4.1% |
|
Q4 2016 |
7,606 |
1.0% |
|
Q1 2017 |
7,665 |
0.8% |
|
Q2 2017 |
7,376 |
– 3.8% |
|
Q3 2017 |
7,599 |
3.0% |
Among job postings in the third quarter of 2017, 32.6% of positions offered monthly salaries between RMB4,001 and 6,000, and 27.6% offered monthly salaries of more than RMB8,000. About 21% of positions offered monthly salaries between RMB6,001 and 8,000.
|
Breakdown of positions by monthly salaries in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Salary (RMB) |
Percentage of positions |
|
Over 8,000 |
27.6 % |
|
6,001 to 8,000 |
21.0% |
|
4,001 to 6,000 |
32.6% |
|
2,001 to 4,000 |
18.0% |
|
Below 2,000 |
0.8% |
Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay in the third quarter of 2017, with an average monthly salary of RMB9,900, up from RMB9,791 in the second quarter. Ningbo climbed to 5th in the ranking with an average monthly salary of RMB7,843 in the third quarter, and Haikou jumped to 7th from 13th with an average monthly salary of RMB7,722. Both cities were making efforts to lure talents with attractive packages.
|
Average monthly salary for cities in the third quarter of 2017 |
|||||
|
Ranking |
City |
Average monthly salary (RMB) |
Ranking |
City |
Average monthly salary (RMB) |
|
1 |
Beijing |
9,900 |
20 |
Wuxi |
7,003 |
|
2 |
Shanghai |
9,365 |
21 |
Wuhan |
6,992 |
|
3 |
Shenzhen |
8,666 |
22 |
Chengdu |
6,910 |
|
4 |
Hangzhou |
8,301 |
23 |
Nanchang |
6,829 |
|
5 |
Ningbo |
7,843 |
24 |
Changsha |
6,822 |
|
6 |
Guangzhou |
7,776 |
25 |
Jinan |
6,783 |
|
7 |
Haikou |
7,722 |
26 |
Hefei |
6,762 |
|
8 |
Dongguan |
7,692 |
27 |
Tianjin |
6,760 |
|
9 |
Foshan |
7,596 |
28 |
Qingdao |
6,665 |
|
10 |
Urumqi |
7,595 |
29 |
Dalian |
6,598 |
|
11 |
Nanning |
7,469 |
30 |
Zhengzhou |
6,578 |
|
12 |
Nanjing |
7,441 |
31 |
Yantai |
6,437 |
|
13 |
Suzhou |
7,346 |
32 |
Shijiazhuang |
6,423 |
|
14 |
Xiamen |
7,335 |
33 |
Taiyuan |
6,284 |
|
15 |
Guiyang |
7,324 |
34 |
Xi’an |
6,201 |
|
16 |
Kunming |
7,196 |
35 |
Changchun |
6,086 |
|
17 |
Chongqing |
7,183 |
36 |
Shenyang |
6,028 |
|
18 |
Lanzhou |
7,159 |
37 |
Harbin |
6,004 |
|
19 |
Fuzhou |
7,015 |
|||
The best-paying sector in the third quarter of 2017 continued to be professional services/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and Human Resources, etc.) with an average monthly salary of RMB10,187, followed by RMB9,703 for funds/securities/futures/investment and RMB9,336 for academic/R&D.
|
Top 10 highest paid sectors in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Sector |
Average monthly salary (RMB) |
|
Professional service/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.) |
10,187 |
|
Funds/securities/futures/investment |
9,703 |
|
Academic/R&D |
9,336 |
|
Energy/mineral/mining/smelting |
9,233 |
|
Intermediary service |
9,225 |
|
Cross-industry operation |
9,191 |
|
Trust/warrant/auction/pawn |
8,657 |
|
Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering |
8,540 |
|
Banking |
8,482 |
|
Traffic/transportation |
8,373 |
The top three occupations with the highest monthly salaries in the third quarter of 2017 were senior management (RMB20,019), IT management/project coordination (RMB14,127) and securities/futures/investment management/service (RMB11,690).
|
Top 10 highest paid occupations in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Occupation |
Average monthly salary (RMB) |
|
Senior management |
20,019 |
|
IT management/project coordination |
14,127 |
|
Securities/futures/investment management/service |
11,690 |
|
Sales management |
10,961 |
|
Real estate development/broker/agency |
10,410 |
|
Software/internet development/system integration |
9,828 |
|
Project management/project coordination |
9,711 |
|
Hardware development |
9,386 |
|
Banking |
9,313 |
|
law/legal/compliance |
9,252 |
Wholly foreign-owned enterprises offered the highest average monthly salary of RMB8,286 in the third quarter, followed by RMB8,163 for joint ventures and RMB8,080 for public companies.
|
Average monthly salaries from different types of companies in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Type of Company |
Average monthly salary (RMB) |
|
Wholly foreign-owned enterprises |
8,286 |
|
Joint ventures |
8,163 |
|
Public companies |
8,080 |
|
Public institutions |
8,037 |
|
State-owned enterprises |
7,968 |
|
Private companies |
7,357 |
Larger companies offered higher salaries in the third quarter. Small and micro-sized companies were not competitive to attract talent.
|
Average monthly salaries for companies of different sizes in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Size of company by employee numbers |
Average monthly salary (RMB) |
|
Below 20 |
6,977 |
|
20-99 |
7,352 |
|
100-499 |
7,445 |
|
500-999 |
7,776 |
|
1,000-9,999 |
8,227 |
|
Above 10,000 |
8,189 |
Job market competition easing 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 third quarter of 2017, the competitive index was 30.4, which means there were an average of 30.4 applications per job vacancy, down from 35.8 in the second quarter of 2017.
Compared with the previous four quarters, the job market competition for white-collar workers continued to ease in the third quarter of 2017. Autumn is traditionally a slow season for job hopping, and white-collar workers were more cautious in seeking new opportunities.
|
Competitive index |
|
|
Quarter |
Competitive index |
|
Q3 2016 |
37.8 |
|
Q4 2016 |
40.3 |
|
Q1 2017 |
44.6 |
|
Q2 2017 |
35.8 |
|
Q3 2017 |
30.4 |
(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 82.4 in the third quarter of 2017, down from 89.9 in the second quarter of 2017.
|
Competitive index for cities in the third quarter of 2017 |
|||||
|
Ranking |
City |
Index |
Ranking |
City |
Index |
|
1 |
Beijing |
82.4 |
20 |
Wuhan |
19.1 |
|
2 |
Shenzhen |
39.7 |
21 |
Qingdao |
19.0 |
|
3 |
Shenyang |
39.3 |
22 |
Guiyang |
17.9 |
|
4 |
Chengdu |
37.8 |
23 |
Zhengzhou |
17.1 |
|
5 |
Shanghai |
37.4 |
24 |
Kunming |
17.1 |
|
6 |
Tianjin |
31.5 |
25 |
Shijiazhuang |
16.4 |
|
7 |
Dalian |
30.8 |
26 |
Jinan |
16.0 |
|
8 |
Xi’an |
27.7 |
27 |
Urumqi |
14.0 |
|
9 |
Guangzhou |
26.3 |
28 |
Yantai |
13.6 |
|
10 |
Changchun |
24.7 |
29 |
Wuxi |
13.5 |
|
11 |
Harbin |
23.7 |
30 |
Hefei |
12.6 |
|
12 |
Changsha |
20.9 |
31 |
Nanchang |
11.3 |
|
13 |
Nanjing |
20.8 |
32 |
Nanning |
11.2 |
|
14 |
Chongqing |
20.7 |
33 |
Fuzhou |
10.0 |
|
15 |
Suzhou |
20.3 |
34 |
Dongguan |
9.6 |
|
16 |
Lanzhou |
20.3 |
35 |
Xiamen |
9.4 |
|
17 |
Taiyuan |
20.2 |
36 |
Foshan |
9.1 |
|
18 |
Haikou |
19.7 |
37 |
Ningbo |
7.7 |
|
19 |
Hangzhou |
19.2 |
|||
|
Competitive index = number of applications/number of job vacancies |
|||||
First-tier cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou) continued to be the top four cities with the highest job demand in the third quarter of 2017. Emerging first-tier cities, including Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Xi’an, were also among the top ten cities with the highest job demand.
|
Top ten cities with the highest job demand in the third 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 |
Wuhan |
Eight of the top ten cities with most job applications in the third quarter of 2017 were also cities with the highest job demand, indicating that these cities with high job demand were also attracting job seekers.
|
Top ten cities with most job applications in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Ranking |
City |
|
1 |
Beijing |
|
2 |
Shanghai |
|
3 |
Shenzhen |
|
4 |
Chengdu |
|
5 |
Guangzhou |
|
6 |
Tianjin |
|
7 |
Xi’an |
|
8 |
Zhengzhou |
|
9 |
Hangzhou |
|
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 39.7, followed by 34.1 for companies over 10,000 employees. The competition for positions in small and micro-sized companies was relatively low due to low brand recognition.
|
Competitve index for different size companies in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Size of Company by employee numbers |
Index |
|
Below 20 |
20.2 |
|
20-99 |
26.2 |
|
100-499 |
31.1 |
|
500-999 |
32.8 |
|
1,000-9,999 |
39.7 |
|
Over 10,000 |
34.1 |
Supply and demand by sector
In the third quarter of 2017, the internet/e-commerce sector continued to top the list with the most job vacancies, followed by real estate/construction/building materials/engineering and education/training/college sectors.
|
Top ten sectors with the highest job demand in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Ranking |
Sector |
|
1 |
Internet/e-commerce |
|
2 |
Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering |
|
3 |
Education/training/college |
|
4 |
Funds/securities/futures/investment |
|
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 |
IT services (system/data/maintenance) |
|
10 |
Home furnishing/interior design/decoration |
Online games returned to the top as the most competitive sector for job seekers in the third quarter of 2017, with 50 applications per vacancy. The competitive index for most sectors declined in the third quarter of 2017 from the previous quarter.
|
Top ten most competitive sectors in the third quarter of 2017 |
|||
|
Ranking |
Sector |
Index |
Ranking in previous quarter |
|
1 |
Online games |
50.0 |
2 |
|
2 |
IT services (system/data/maintenance) |
42.8 |
4 |
|
3 |
Internet/e-commerce |
41.5 |
8 |
|
4 |
Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering |
41.1 |
5 |
|
5 |
Computer software |
39.6 |
7 |
|
6 |
Telecom/carrier operators/value-added service |
39.2 |
1 |
|
7 |
Cross-industry operation |
38.7 |
6 |
|
8 |
Aviation/aerospace research and manufacturing |
35.0 |
3 |
|
9 |
Funds/securities/futures/investment |
34.8 |
16 |
|
10 |
Media/publishing/movie and TV/culture communications |
34.8 |
12 |
Insurance continued to be the least competitive sector in the third quarter of 2017, with 12.5 applications per vacancy, followed by 15.6 for intermediary service and 17.0 for office supplies and equipment.
|
Least competitive sectors in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Sector |
Index |
|
Insurance |
12.5 |
|
Intermediary service |
15.6 |
|
Office supplies and equipment |
17.0 |
|
Printing/packaging/papermaking |
17.6 |
|
Outsourcing service |
19.2 |
|
Home furnishing/interior design/decoration |
20.5 |
|
Processing and manufacturing (raw material processing/mould) |
20.6 |
|
Gifts/toys/arts and crafts/collection/luxuries |
22.6 |
|
Trust/warrant/auction/pawn |
22.7 |
|
Banking |
22.8 |
The sectors with the most job applications in the third quarter of 2017 included internet/e-commerce, computer software and real estate/construction/building materials/engineering.
|
Top ten sectors with the most job applications in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Ranking |
Sector |
|
1 |
Internet/e-commerce |
|
2 |
Computer software |
|
3 |
Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering |
|
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 |
FMCG (food, drinks, alcohol and tobacco, and chemicals for daily use) |
|
9 |
Media/publishing/movie and TV/culture communications |
|
10 |
Trade/export and import |
Supply and demand by occupation
The top occupations with the most vacancies for white collar workers in the third quarter of 2017 were almost the same as in the second quarter of 2017, including sales, administration/logistics/secretary, and software/internet development/system integration.
|
Top ten occupations with the highest job demand in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Ranking |
Occupation |
|
1 |
Sales |
|
2 |
Administration/logistics/secretary |
|
3 |
Software/internet development/system integration |
|
4 |
Sales management |
|
5 |
Education/training |
|
6 |
Finance/auditing/tax |
|
7 |
Customer service/pre-sales and after-sales support |
|
8 |
Human resources |
|
9 |
Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering |
|
10 |
Internet products/operation management |
The most competitive occupation in the third quarter of 2017 was software/internet development/system integration with 101.2 applications per vacancy, followed by 87.1 for IT quality management/testing/configuration management, and 59.3 for senior management.
|
Top 10 most competitive occupations in the third quarter of 2017 |
|||
|
Ranking |
Occupation |
Index |
Ranking in previous quarter |
|
1 |
Software/internet development/system integration |
101.2 |
1 |
|
2 |
IT quality management/testing/configuration management |
87.1 |
2 |
|
3 |
Senior management |
59.3 |
5 |
|
4 |
Transportation services |
56.8 |
4 |
|
5 |
Finance/auditing/tax |
50.1 |
3 |
|
6 |
Human resources |
47.0 |
6 |
|
7 |
Administration/logistics/secretary |
41.5 |
8 |
|
8 |
Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering |
38.5 |
7 |
|
9 |
Purchasing/trade |
36.1 |
10 |
|
10 |
IT operation and maintenance/technical support |
36.0 |
12 |
The least competitive occupations in the third quarter of 2017 were healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding with 9.7 applications per vacancy, followed by 10.3 for community/residency/housekeeping, and 10.5 for insurance.
|
Least competitive occupations in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Occupation |
Index |
|
Healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding |
9.7 |
|
Community/residency/housekeeping |
10.3 |
|
Insurance |
10.5 |
|
Mechanic/operator |
11.2 |
|
Sales |
11.7 |
|
Cooking/catering/food R&D |
11.7 |
|
Farming/forestry/animal husbandry/fishery |
12.3 |
|
Trust/warrant/auction/pawn |
14.8 |
|
Hospital/medical care/nursing |
15.5 |
|
Customer service/pre-sales and after-sales support |
16.0 |
The top ten occupations with the most job applications in the third quarter of 2017 were almost the same as in the second quarter of 2017.
|
Top ten occupations with the most job applications in the third quarter of 2017 |
|
|
Ranking |
Occupation |
|
1 |
Software/internet development/system integration |
|
2 |
Finance/auditing/tax |
|
3 |
Administration/logistics/secretary |
|
4 |
Human resources |
|
5 |
Civil engineering/construction/decoration/municipal engineering |
|
6 |
Sales |
|
7 |
Sales management |
|
8 |
Internet product/operation management |
|
9 |
Art/design |
|
10 |
Marketing |