With intensifying competition among white-collar workers for jobs in the first quarter of 2017, the increase in average monthly salaries slowed down significantly, according to findings released by Zhaopin Limited, a leading career platform in China in its 2017 first-quarter report on China’s labour market supply and demand for white-collar workers.

Key highlights from the findings are:

• 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 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, 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.

Among job postings in the first quarter of 2017, 33 percent of positions offered monthly salaries between RMB4,001 to 6,000, and 25.3 percent offered monthly salaries of more than RMB8,000. About 18 percent of positions offered monthly salaries below RMB4,000.

See: Most Desirable Benefits by Employees in China in 2017

Beijing continues 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 5^th in the country, with an average salary reaching RMB7,873.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Job market competition intensifies for white-collar workers

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Supply and demand by sector

In the first quarter of 2017, the booming internet/e-commerce sector still topped the list with 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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