High starting salaries bring cheer for job hunters

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 in South China's Guangdong province, saw the average starting salary settling around 10,323 yuan ($1,425) per month in the first quarter. This 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 pay in some first-tier cities were much higher than that on offer in second-tier or third-tier cities, according to Zhaopin. Shanghai offered the highest renumeration for new recruits in the first quarter — 13,617 yuan per month — closely followed by Beijing with 13,316 yuan per month and Shenzhen in Guangdong province with 12,751 yuan per month.

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

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

The services sector proved to be the "dark horse" in the first quarter both in terms of 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 a recruitment growth for services talent with corresponding high salaries.

According to the Zhaopin report, the starting salary for hotel and catering jobs rose by 10.6 percent in the first quarter on the platform, 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 salary in the finance sector remains 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, 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 that the nation's economy is seeing overall recovery and growth with some macro policies bringing good results and people's consumption demands in continuous recovery. This is prompting jobseekers to adjust their salary expectations in accordance with the 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, and employers have been hiring more people.