BEIJING – Nov 5, 2018 – Zhaopin Limited (“Zhaopin” or the “Company”), a leading career platform in China focused on matching talent with skills and opportunities through their career lifecycle, and the China Institute for Employment Research (“CIER”) at Renmin University of China released the CIER Employment Index Report for the third quarter of 2018.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s economy remained stable as GDP grew by 6.7% year-over-year in the first three quarters of 2018. In the labor market, the number of job seekers decreased in the third quarter over the previous quarter, while job openings experienced a slower decrease. As a result, the CIER index rose slightly to 1.97 in the third quarter of 2018, which means there were 1.97 job vacancies for each unique job seeker. However, this was the first time since 2011 that job demand and supply in the third quarter of a year experienced decline year-over-year.
China’s third-quarter 2018 labor market highlights:
CIER index rising with fewer job seekers
After the college graduation season, the labor supply usually experiences a decrease in the third quarter. Data for the third quarter of 2018 also showed a drop in labor supply. While the number of job seekers fell 24.37% in the third quarter of 2018 over the second quarter, the number of job openings decreased 20.79%, leading to a slight increase in the CIER index to 1.97 in the third quarter of 2018, up from 1.88 in the second quarter.
Compared to the third quarter of 2017, the number of job openings declined 27% in the third quarter this year, while the number of job applicants also declined 9.86%. This is the first time since 2011 that the number of job openings and job applicants both declined in the third quarter on a year-on-year basis.
CIER index by sectors
The CIER index of the best performing sector was 15 times better than that of the worst performing sector in the third quarter of 2018, compared with the gap of 12 times in the second quarter of 2018 and 28 times in the third quarter of 2017.
The intermediary services continued to outperform all other sectors as the best-performing sector in the third quarter of 2018 with an increased CIER index of 7.97. The CIER index of internet/e-commerce sector and real estate/construction/building materials/engineering fell over this quarter.
Ten best-performing sectors in the third quarter of 2018
Ranking
Sector
CIER index
1
Intermediary service
7.97
2
Insurance
6.51
3
Education/training/college
4.75
4
Internet/e-commerce
4.20
5
Hotel/restaurant
4.12
6
Outsourcing service
4.07
7
Real estate/construction/building materials/engineering
3.90
8
Medicine/biological engineering
3.53
9
Banking
3.36
10
Professional services/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.)
3.22
The aerospace research and manufacturing sector remained the worst-performing sector in the third quarter of 2018, with its CIER index decreasing 0.08 to 0.51. The heavy equipment/electromechanical equipment/heavy industry and tourism/resort sectors saw their CIER index drop below 1, becoming two of the ten worst-performing sectors.
Ten worst-performing sectors in the third quarter of 2018
Aerospace research and manufacturing
0.51
Energy/mineral/mining/smelting
0.65
Environmental protection
0.73
Printing/packaging/papermaking
0.78
Instruments/apparatuses/industrial automation
0.84
Petroleum/petrochemical/chemical
0.89
Heavy equipment/electromechanical equipment/heavy industry
0.91
Electricity/power/water conservancy
0.97
Tourism/Resort
0.98
Medical apparatus/equipment
1.03
The education/training/college sector experienced a sharp growth in the third quarter of 2018, driven by the development of new technologies and businesses and people’s need for learning and skill upgrades. The job demand increase mostly comes from the Pearl River Delta, with an 11% increase in the third quarter of 2018 year-over-year.
Year-over-year change in recruitment demand for education/training/college sector in the third quarter of 2018
Bohai
-17%
Yangtze River Delta
-2%
Pearl River Delta
11%
The trade/import and export sector continued to drop in job openings in the third quarter of 2018, reflecting the continuous influence of the US-China trade war. The job demand in this sector fell 53% in the third quarter year-over-year. Emerging first-tier cities witnessed the most severe decrease of 71%.
Year-over-year change in recruitment demand for trade/import and export sector in the third quarter of 2018
Northeastern China
-21%
Eastern China
-50%
Central China
-36%
Western China
-80%
The IT and Internet sector continued to slow down in the third quarter, as job demand dropped 51% compared to the third quarter of 2017. Job demand in online gaming fell 48%, affected by new regulations to limit the number of existing and new online games. Job demand for computer hardware and IT services (system/data/maintenance) also fell 46% and 57% respectively.
Year-over-year change in recruitment demand for IT/Internet sector in the third quarter of 2018
Online games
-48%
Computer hardware
-46%
Computer software
-39%
Internet /e-commerce
-57%
IT services (system/data /maintenance)
-27%
The finance sector declined in the third quarter of 2018 with job demand decreasing by 46% year-over-year, but subsidiary sectors had different performances. The banking sector became one of the ten best-performed sectors, while the fund/securities/futures/investment sector fell out of the list.
Year-over-year change in recruitment demand for finance sector in the third quarter of 2018
Trust/warrant/auction/pawn
-38%
Fund/securities/futures/investment
CIER index by occupations
The best performing occupations in the third quarter of 2018 included mechanic/operator, sales, community/residency/housekeeping, and education/training.
Ten best-performing occupations in the third quarter of 2018
Mechanic/operator
24.85
Sales
12.12
Community/residency/housekeeping
8.21
Education/training
7.73
Real estate development/broker/agency
7.43
Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals/Medical Equipment
6.90
Supermarket/hotel/entertainment management/service
6.73
Software/internet development/system integration
6.31
Cooking/cuisine/food research and development
6.14
Translation (oral and written)
6.09
The worst performing occupations in the third quarter of 2018 were trust/warrant/auction/pawn, PR/media, sales/business administration, and manufacturing management/operation.
Ten worst-performing occupations in the third quarter of 2018
1.18
PR/media
1.19
Property management
1.24
Sales/business administration
1.27
Manufacturing management/operation
1.35
Senior management
1.39
Project management/coordination
Environmental science/protection
1.40
Administration/logistic/secretary
1.53
Quality control/safety protection
1.61
CIER index by regions and cities
In the third quarter of 2018, CIER indexes for Eastern China, Central China, Western China and Northeastern China all rose from the previous quarter. Though job demand decreased by 21% to 24%, job supply decreased more at 32% to 38%, driving the CIER index up in the third quarter. Eastern China continued to enjoy the highest CIER index score of 1.72, while the labor market in Northeast China continued to have the worst performance with a CIER index of 0.87.
CIER index by regions
Region
3Q 2017 CIER
2Q 2018 CIER
3Q 2018 CIER
2.14
1.46
1.72
1.92
1.33
1.50
1.63
1.11
1.25
Northeast China
1.42
0.87
The CIER index remained higher in smaller cities than that in large cities in the third quarter of 2018. Third-tier cities had the highest CIER index score of 1.78, while the first-tier cities suffered with the lowest of 0.93.
CIER index by cities
City
First-tier cities
0.68
0.71
0.93
Emerging first-tier cities
1.31
1.20
Second-tier cities
2.15
1.52
1.73
Third-tier cities
2.92
1.56
1.78
CIER index by size of companies
In the third quarter of 2018, the CIER index for large-sized companies jumped to 2.87, remaining the highest, followed by 1.23 for micro-sized companies and 1.19 for medium-sized companies.
Company size
Large-sized (more than 10,000 employees)
1.90
1.91
2.87
Medium-sized (500 to 9,999 employees)
1.01
Small-sized (20 to 499 employees)
0.79
0.92
Micro-sized (fewer than 20 employees)
2.27
1.08
1.23
CIER index by type of companies
The CIER index for all types of companies rose in the third quarter of 2018. Wholly foreign-owned enterprises were the best-performers with the CIER index rising to 1.39, followed by 1.32 for public companies.
Private companies
1.68
1.16
Shareholding companies
0.85
State-owned enterprises
Joint ventures
Public companies
1.02
1.32
Wholly foreign-owned enterprises
0.59
Labor market outlook
The labor market competition for job seekers is likely to continue to ease and the CIER index is expected to keep rising in the fourth quarters of 2018. Yet uncertainties including the trade war between China and the US may drag the CIER index lower than the fourth quarter in 2017.
Methodology and how to interpret the data
Based on data from Zhaopin’s online recruitment platform, the CIER index tracks the ratio changes between job vacancies and job seekers in a variety of industries and cities across the country, and identifies the overall trend in China’s employment market. Jointly published by Zhaopin and the CIER at Renmin University of China every quarter, the CIER index has become a leading barometer of China’s labor market and macro-economic environment.
The CIER index score is calculated by dividing the number of job vacancies during a specified period by the number of unique job seekers during the same period. A CIER index score of more than 1 indicates that the labor market is booming, with more vacancies than job seekers. A CIER index score of less than 1 indicates that the labor market competition is intensifying, with more job seekers than available vacancies.
Media ContactCompany Name: Zhaopin LimitedContact Person: Ms. Serena SunEmail: Send EmailPhone: (86-10) 5863 5888Country: ChinaWebsite: https://www.zhaopin.com
