Zhaopin: No Year-End Bonus for Over 50% of Chinese White-Collar Workers in 2016

BEIJING, Jan. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin Limited (NYSE: ZPIN) ("Zhaopin" or the "Company"), a leading career platform¹ in China focused on connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their career lifecycles, released its 2016 White-Collar Worker Year-End Bonus Survey Report. The report found that more than 50% of white-collar workers in China did not get year-end bonuses in 2016.

Zhaopin conducted its annual survey on year-end bonuses at the end of 2016, and more than 11,500 white-collar workers participated.

Key Findings of Zhaopin White-Collar Worker Year-End Bonus Survey for 2016:

• 50.9% of white-collar workers did not get any year-end bonus in 2016, compared with 66% in 2015.
• The average year-end bonus for white-collar workers in 2016 was RMB12,821, higher than RMB10,767 in 2015, but lower than RMB13,613 in 2014.
• The finance industry offered the highest average year-end bonus in 2016 at RMB17,241, followed by RMB16,839 for real estate/construction.
• White-collar workers in Beijing got the highest average year-end bonus at RMB15,846, followed by RMB14,640 in Shanghai and RMB14,605 in Shenzhen.
• Nearly 40% of white-collar workers would seek to switch jobs based on year-end bonus considerations.

Low Satisfaction with Year-End Bonus

According to Zhaopin's survey, 50.9% of survey respondents did not get any year-end bonus in 2016, down from 66% in 2015. 39.5% of white-collar workers had received their bonuses by the end of 2016, much higher than 13.4% in 2015.

Cash is still the most common form of year-end bonus for white-collar workers. Some companies offered physical gifts as annual bonuses, including company-made products, cameras, liquor, pork, fish, fruits, sauna coupons, inflatable dolls, rice cookers, tissue paper, and lottery tickets.

White-collar workers' satisfaction with year-end bonuses in 2016 remained at a low level of 2.18 (measured from 0 to 5, with 5 as the highest), although slightly higher than 2.07 in 2015, Zhaopin found. Employees in state-owned enterprises had the highest satisfaction score at 2.46, while workers at private companies had the lowest satisfaction score of 2.07.

In terms of work experiences, employees with less than one year's experience had the highest satisfaction (2.45) with the annual bonus, as their expectations were relatively low. The satisfaction with year-end bonuses declined as work experience increased because more experienced white-collar workers had higher expectations, said Zhaopin experts.

Finance Industry Had Highest Average Year-End Bonus

The average year-end bonus for white-collar workers in 2016 was RMB12,821, higher than RMB10,767 in 2015, but lower than RMB13,613 in 2014, according to Zhaopin's survey.

The finance industry offered the highest average year-end bonus in 2016, at RMB17,241, followed by RMB16,839 for the real estate/construction industry. The eEducation/arts and crafts industry had the lowest average year-end bonus at RMB7,433.

White-collar workers in Beijing got the highest average year-end bonus, at RMB15,846, followed by RMB14,640 in Shanghai and RMB14,605 in Shenzhen.

The more work experience, the higher the year-end bonuses for white-collar workers, Zhaopin found. The average year-end bonus for employees with more than ten years of experience was RMB20,471, compared with RMB5,675 for employees with less than one year of experience.

Among different types of companies, state-owned enterprises had the highest average year-end bonus at RMB17,318, while private companies had the lowest average year-end bonus, at RMB11,271.

The average year-end bonus for senior-level managers was RMB28,639, compared with RMB10,009 for ordinary employees.

In terms of occupations, white-collar workers in marketing/PR/advertising had the highest average bonus at RMB16,354, followed by RMB14,850 for R&D. Employees working in administration/logistics had the lowest average year-end bonus of RMB8,144.

Year-End Bonus Impacting Job Hopping

When asked about how important the year-end bonus is in evaluating a job, the average answer was 3.77 (measured from 0 to 5, with 5 as the most important) in 2016, slightly higher than 3.71 in 2015. The year-end bonus was also an important factor when white-collar workers consider job changes. Nearly 40% would seek to switch jobs based on year-end bonus considerations.

In the survey, Zhaopin asked white-collar workers whether their year-end bonuses decreased in 2016, and, if so,  the reasons for the decline. The top three factors for the shrinking year-end bonuses were: poor company performance, just changed job/limited work experience, and the gloomy industry environment.

More than 40% of white-collar workers would use their year-end bonuses to show respect for their elders, and 36.5% would save them as deposits.

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 September 30, 2016, number of registered users as of September 30, 2016 and number of unique customers[3] for the three months ended September 30, 2016. The Company's over 125.2 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[4] 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