China Labor Market Competition Posted Rise in the Fourth Quarter of 2016

BEIJING, Dec. 29, 2016 /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 fourth-quarter report on China labor market supply and demand for white-collar workers. Competition for white-collar workers in the fourth quarter of 2016 reversed the declining trend seen in each of the previous three quarters, and posted the first rise for 2016, during what is normally a slow season for recruitment. Average monthly salary continued the rising trend throughout this year.

China Fourth-Quarter of 2016 White-Collar Labor Market Highlights:

• Competition for white-collar jobs intensified in the fourth quarter of 2016, with an average of 41 applications per vacancy. That was up from both the 37 applications recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015, and the 38 posted in the third quarter of 2016.
• The average monthly salary rose slightly to RMB7,606 in the fourth quarter of 2016, from RMB7,531 in the third quarter of 2016. Salary has been on the rise since the beginning of 2016.
• Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay, at an average monthly salary of RMB9,835, followed by RMB9,720 in Shanghai, RMB8,640 in Shenzhen and RMB7,853 in Guangzhou.
• Beijing was by far the most competitive city, with 93.5 applications per vacancy in the fourth quarter of 2016, up significantly from 78.5 in the third quarter of 2016.
• The most competitive sector for job seekers in the fourth quarter of 2016 was online games, with 70.0 applications per vacancy.
• Software/internet development/system integration was the most competitive occupation in the fourth quarter of 2016, with 145.1 applications per vacancy.

Salary keeping the upward trend

Based on online job postings in 34 key cities compiled by Zhaopin, the average monthly salary in the fourth quarter of 2016 was RMB7,606, up slightly from RMB7,531 in the third quarter of 2016. The average salary has been on the rise since the beginning of this year, but the rate of increase slowed during the fourth quarter.

Among job postings in the fourth quarter of 2016, 31.8% of positions offered monthly salaries of between RMB4,001 to 6,000, and 28.1% offered monthly salaries of more than RMB8,000. Only 19.2% of positions offered monthly salaries below RMB4,000.

Beijing continued to be the city with the highest pay in the fourth quarter of 2016, with an average monthly salary of RMB9,835, followed by RMB9,720 in Shanghai, RMB8,640 in Shenzhen and RMB7,853 in Guangzhou.

The best-paying sector in the fourth quarter of 2016 continued to be professional services/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.) with an average monthly salary of RMB10,599, followed by RMB9,333 for funds/securities/futures/investment and RMB9,117 for cross-industry operation.

The top three occupations with the highest monthly salaries in the fourth quarter of 2016 were senior management (RMB18,940), IT management/project coordination (RMB14,554) and sales management (RMB10,726).

Except for public and state-owned companies, the average salaries in other types of companies went up slightly in the fourth quarter of 2016. Joint ventures offered the highest average monthly salary of RMB8,340, compared with RMB7,887 for wholly foreign-owned enterprises and RMB7,646 for private companies. The average monthly salary of public institutions was the lowest at RMB7,308.

The average monthly salary of micro-sized companies with fewer than 20 employees was RMB9,348, 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.

Overall competition heating up 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 fourth quarter of 2016, the competitive index was 40.3, which means there were an average of 41 applications per job vacancy, up from 37.8 in the third quarter of 2016.

The intensified competition in the fourth quarter of 2016 reversed the slowing trend in the labor market since the beginning of this year. The competitive index had declined to 37.8 in the third quarter from 45.1 in the second quarter and 48.0 in the first quarter. However, the labor market competition heated up in the fourth quarter, with the competitive index rising to 40.3. The fourth quarter is normally a low season for recruitment, with both job demand and applications dropping. The decline in job demand exceeded the drop in applications, creating a more competitive environment for workers.

(Competitive index = number of applications/number of job vacancies)

Beijing was by far the most competitive city for white-collar workers, with a competitive index of 93.5 in the fourth quarter of 2016, almost double the index for Chengdu (50.0), the second most competitive city. While job applications were declining in most cities in the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of job seekers was still increasing in Beijing, pushing up the competition significantly in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Among the top ten cities with highest job demand in the fourth quarter of 2016, Hangzhou was the only city with job demand increasing compared with the third quarter of 2016.

Among the top ten cities with most job applications in the fourth quarter of 2016, only three cities (Beijing, Xi'an and Hangzhou) experienced growth in job applications compared with the third quarter of 2016.

In terms of employer size, companies with 1,000 to 9,999 employees were the most competitive for job seekers, with an index of 45.8, followed by 44.6 for companies with 100 to 499 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 fourth quarter of 2016, the fast-growing internet/e-commerce sector was still highest with the most job vacancies, followed by funds/securities/futures/investment, and real estate/construction/building materials/engineering. As a traditional slow season for recruitment, the job demand declined in all sectors.

The most competitive sector for job seekers in the fourth quarter of 2016 was online games, with 70.0 applications per vacancy, followed by 56.4 for real estate/construction/building materials/engineering, and 56.0 for IT services (system/data/maintenance). Among the top ten sectors, online games was the only sector with competitive index slipping compared with the third quarter of 2016, while the competition in other nine sectors all heated up in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Insurance continued to be the least competitive sector in the fourth quarter of 2016, with 15.2 applications per vacancy, followed by 20.6 for intermediary service and 24.6 for banking and printing/packaging/papermaking.

The sectors with the most job applications in the fourth quarter of 2016 included internet/e-commerce, computer software and real estate/construction/building materials/engineering. Compared with the third quarter of 2016, computer software, IT services (system/data/maintenance), and professional service/consulting (finance and accounting, legal and HR, etc.) were the only sectors among the top ten sectors with job applications increasing in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Supply and demand by occupation

The top occupations with the most vacancies for white collar workers in the fourth quarter of 2016 were almost the same as the third quarter of 2016, including sales, administration/logistics/secretary, and software/internet development/system integration.

The most competitive occupation in the fourth quarter of 2016 was software/internet development/system integration with 145.1 applications per vacancy, followed by 87.1 for finance/auditing/tax, and 78.0 for IT quality management/testing/configuration management.

The least competitive occupations in the fourth quarter of 2016 were healthcare/beauty/hairdressing/bodybuilding with 8.8 applications per vacancy, followed by 11.2 for community/residency/housekeeping, and 11.6 for insurance.

The top ten occupations with the most job applications in the fourth quarter of 2016 were the same as in the third quarter of 2016. Software/internet development/system integration, finance/auditing/tax, and purchasing/trade were occupations with more job applications in the fourth quarter than the third quarter of 2016.

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 customers² 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 postings³ 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 
ir@zhaopin.com.cn

ICR Beijing
Mr. Edmond Lococo
Phone: +86 10 6583-7510
Edmond.Lococo@icrinc.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-labor-market-competition-posted-rise-in-the-fourth-quarter-of-2016-300383980.html

SOURCE Zhaopin Limited