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 = 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

SOURCE Zhaopin Limited