Job hunters cheer hefty starting pay

Statistics show that employment remained stable in the first quarter

Finance-related jobs were the most sought after in the first quarter of the year thanks to the hefty salaries on offer, while the services sector witnessed a huge jump in starting pay during the same period.

Recruitment portal Zhaopin recently released a report that said 38 major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, saw the average starting salary settle at around 10,300 yuan ($1,425) a month in the first quarter. That was an increase of 2.2 percent year-on-year, but a fall of 0.9 percent from the previous quarter.

Among the 38 cities, the starting salaries in some first-tier cities were much higher than those on offer in second-tier or third-tier cities, according to Zhaopin. Shanghai offered the highest remuneration for new recruits in the first quarter — 13,617 yuan a month — closely followed by Beijing with 13,316 yuan a month and Shenzhen at 12,751 yuan.

Average starting pay in some cities in northwestern and northeastern provinces, such as Lanzhou in Gansu province and Harbin in Heilongjiang province, was under 9,000 yuan.

Finance and technology-related jobs were the most attractive for job hunters because of the high salaries. The report said that job openings on the platform in the finance and investment sectors offered an average monthly salary of 13,374 yuan and vacancies in computer science, information technology and new energy sectors saw average starting salaries of around 11,000 to 12,000 yuan a month.

The services sector proved to be the "dark horse" in the first quarter both in terms of the number of jobs on offer and the increase in pay offered to new recruits. Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that from January to February, retail sales of services — mainly in the transport, catering and entertainment business — rose by 12.3 percent year-on-year, driving recruitment growth for services talent and correspondingly high salaries.

According to the Zhaopin report, the starting salary for hotel and catering jobs rose by 10.6 percent in the first quarter, maintaining the continuous growth trend observed in the previous three quarters. Job openings in the tourism and leisure sectors also saw starting salaries increase by 9.3 percent over the quarter.

"Recruiting salaries in the finance sector remain stable. Sectors including smart manufacturing, new energy and professional services and consultancy are offering high and stable payment to their new recruits," said Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin.

He said that starting salaries see periodic ups and downs, but are also influenced by policies, the state of the economy, industrial development and labor supply. He added that the slight drop in salaries from the previous quarter could be due to the trend of many people changing jobs in the first quarter.

The Zhaopin report said China's economy is seeing overall recovery and growth, with some macroeconomic policies bringing good results and people's consumption demand in continuous recovery. This is prompting job seekers to adjust their salary expectations in accordance with market and industry changes.

The nation's job market remained stable in the first quarter. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 3.03 million people landed jobs in urban areas in the first three months, up 60,000 year-on-year.