China White-collar Salary Growth Slowed Down in the First Quarter of 2017

BEIJING, April 11, 2017 /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 lifecycle, released its 2017 first-quarter report on China labor market supply and demand for white-collar workers. With intensifying competition among white-collar workers for jobs in the first quarter of 2017, the increase in average monthly salaries slowed down significantly.

First-Quarter of 2017 China White-Collar Labor Market Highlights:

• 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 73.0 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 compiled by Zhaopin, 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, 33.0% of positions offered monthly salaries between RMB4,001 to 6,000, and 25.3% offered monthly salaries of more than RMB8,000. About 18.0% of positions offered monthly salaries below RMB4,000.

Beijing continued 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 intensifying 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 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 the 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.

The top ten occupations with the most job applications in the first quarter of 2017 were the same as in the fourth quarter of 2016 with some changes on rankings.

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 December 31, 2016, number of registered users as of December 31, 2016 and number of unique customers[2] for the three months ended December 31, 2016. The Company's over 129.5 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