The autumn market is heating up, with the second wave of recruitment activities known as "Golden September and Silver October." The overall trend in the job market remains stable. In August, 51job.com (www.51job.com) posted 2,109,119 job openings, an increase of 1% compared to the previous month. Among cities nationwide, only Jilin and Jinan saw a rise of over 5% in job postings from the previous month. Cities like Xiamen, Fuzhou, Suzhou, and Shenyang experienced a growth rate of around 3%. Very few cities witnessed a decline in job postings; Tianjin had a relatively larger drop at 3%, while Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Changsha each fell by 1%.
New graduates are increasingly focused on immediate returns. Many regret their choice of major once they enter the workforce.
In terms of recruitment by various types of enterprises, foreign-funded European and American companies saw a slight decrease in online job postings in August, whereas state-owned enterprises experienced the largest increase at 4%. With the peak season for campus recruitment approaching, it will be interesting to see whether foreign-invested and private enterprises will ramp up their efforts through campus recruitment in the second half of the year. Some HR representatives noted that starting salaries for new hires have increased this year, and certain technical positions require significant investment to retain talent. However, two years is still considered a high-risk period for employee turnover. Today's young people focus more on immediate returns. If within a year they do not see career prospects or experience a salary increase of 30% to 50%, they may consider leaving. They believe that during the early stages of their careers when the cost of making mistakes is low, they should try different opportunities and make adjustments. Especially after the minimum wage standards were raised in many cities earlier this year, the cost of labor has been increasing, leading to higher expectations among new graduates.
After summer, approximately 6.6 million college graduates left academia and entered the workforce. During the college entrance examination period, the 51job forum (bbs.51job.com) conducted a survey on majors and employment situations. Majors such as animation (including digital animation and animation design), environmental engineering, and social work, which experts previously deemed to have significant gaps and bright prospects, now face complaints from graduates about the difficulty of finding relevant jobs. Meanwhile, versatile majors like e-commerce, marketing, international trade, and business management are often criticized for lacking competitive advantages in the job market. Therefore, career planning should start early.
Commercial real estate is currently a focal point within the real estate industry and is expanding into second-tier cities. Hong Kong-based Hang Lung Properties opened its fourth shopping center in mainland China, Jinan Hang Lung Square, at the end of August. Chairman Ronnie Chan revealed in a media interview that the company plans to invest between 40 billion to 50 billion yuan in mainland China over the next few years, focusing on four large shopping center projects in second-tier cities like Shenyang, Wuxi, Tianjin, and Dalian, some of which will include office buildings and serviced apartments. Harbin’s commercial real estate development volume is also rapidly increasing, with emerging markets for pedestrian streets, community commerce, shopping centers, and mixed-use complexes. However, according to media reports, the China Banking Regulatory Commission recently warned commercial banks about risks in the commercial real estate and some second- and third-tier city real estate markets, requiring banks to strengthen monitoring of non-residential loans such as commercial real estate loans and personal consumption loans. Credit standards for commercial properties must be significantly higher than those for residential properties. This marks another recent warning from the CBRC about risks in second- and third-tier city real estate markets, specifically targeting commercial real estate.
In China, commercial real estate is still in its infancy, so the current talent pool cannot meet the demands for development and operation, especially when projects have already started or are about to start. Experienced comprehensive marketing and planning talents are in short supply. Even with attractive high salaries, some mid- to senior-level professionals in the real estate industry remain hesitant due to unclear prospects and high risks: first, there are only a few established commercial real estate developers, such as Hang Lung and Sun Hung Kai from Hong Kong, and Wanda, COFCO, Longfor, and Poly from mainland China. Many companies lack successful project experiences and complete development mechanisms, making them uncertain even with high salaries. Second, commercial real estate is a high-investment, high-return industry closely related to urban economic levels and consumer capabilities. Location selection is critical, and success in first-tier cities does not necessarily translate to second-tier cities, limiting choices for industry insiders. Third, due to the talent shortage, many companies turn to residential real estate for talent, but commercial real estate and residential real estate are entirely different concepts requiring professionalism, complexity, and foresight. High requirements for professional competence deter some mid- to senior-level talents from advancing. Although the purchase restrictions have a significant impact on the real estate market, the main affected group is sales personnel. Mid- to senior-level composite talents in development financing, leasing management, marketing planning, project expansion, and operation management are less affected. For newcomers with less than three years of work experience, switching jobs can easily lead to salary doubling or position promotion, but for mid- to senior-level talents, achieving significant salary increases or promotions upon changing jobs is not easy. Therefore, many prefer stability during this turbulent period.
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail industries continue to thrive.
In August, the FMCG sector (food/beverage/cosmetics) and the retail industry stood out in recruitment demand among various industries. According to statistics from the Worry-Free Index, the number of online job postings in the FMCG sector consistently followed the real estate industry, ranking fourth among all industries in terms of online job postings. Except for the seasonal adjustment period in January and a slight decline in May, the sector has been growing steadily. The wholesale/retail industry, aside from slight declines in May and July, has been generally on the rise since the beginning of the year (see chart). Deloitte China recently released the "China Retail Power 2011" report, which pointed out that the store growth rate of the top 100 chain enterprises was 9.74% in 2010, the lowest in three years, but the growth rate of sales scale was 22.43%, far exceeding 13.5% in 2009, indicating a gradual shift towards refined efficiency-oriented development, with greater emphasis on improving the sales capability of individual stores, industry segmentation, and operational specialization.
Currently, because the domestic first- and second-tier city markets are basically saturated and online store resources are scarce, the battlefield for retail enterprises has extended to third- and fourth-tier cities and even rural markets. Deloitte pointed out in the report that when retail enterprises develop markets in third- and fourth-tier cities, the most important points to note are the consumers' psychological mindset, consumption habits, consumption patterns, and behaviors, which may differ greatly from those in first- and second-tier cities, as well as logistics management in these markets.
Regarding human resource issues faced by retail enterprises, Deloitte noted that China's retail industry completed in nearly 10 years what other countries took 40 years to achieve, resulting in insufficient talent supply due to the rapid development speed. Additionally, the relatively low average gross profit margin leads to average remuneration for employees, causing high employee turnover rates.
Despite potential impacts from factors such as overheating or sluggishness in the economy, the FMCG industry is closely related to people's livelihoods and has a high level of talent mobility, thus maintaining constant recruitment needs. However, wages for grassroots staff in the FMCG industry are relatively low, and the salaries of mid- to high-end talents are not particularly competitive compared to other industries. Moreover, busy periods in the FMCG industry involve many time-sensitive tasks, while during off-seasons, attention shifts to sales performance. When outlets are widely spread, mid- to high-level management talents, especially regional managers/directors, need to travel frequently, making the job demanding. Based on search results from the 51job job search engine, the FMCG industry mainly requires sales and marketing personnel, with larger recruitment volumes concentrated in positions such as sales representatives, account managers, and channel marketing roles. Many well-known companies are keenly seeking city managers responsible for developing sales operations, including channel development and suburban expansion.
Commercial real estate is currently a focal point within the real estate industry and is expanding into second-tier cities. Hong Kong-based Hang Lung Properties opened its fourth shopping center in mainland China, Jinan Hang Lung Square, at the end of August. Chairman Ronnie Chan revealed in a media interview that the company plans to invest between 40 billion to 50 billion yuan in mainland China over the next few years, focusing on four large shopping center projects in second-tier cities like Shenyang, Wuxi, Tianjin, and Dalian, some of which will include office buildings and serviced apartments. Harbin’s commercial real estate development volume is also rapidly increasing, with emerging markets for pedestrian streets, community commerce, shopping centers, and mixed-use complexes. However, according to media reports, the China Banking Regulatory Commission recently warned commercial banks about risks in the commercial real estate and some second- and third-tier city real estate markets, requiring banks to strengthen monitoring of non-residential loans such as commercial real estate loans and personal consumption loans. Credit standards for commercial properties must be significantly higher than those for residential properties. This marks another recent warning from the CBRC about risks in second- and third-tier city real estate markets, specifically targeting commercial real estate.
In China, commercial real estate is still in its infancy, so the current talent pool cannot meet the demands for development and operation, especially when projects have already started or are about to start. Experienced comprehensive marketing and planning talents are in short supply. Even with attractive high salaries, some mid- to senior-level professionals in the real estate industry remain hesitant due to unclear prospects and high risks: first, there are only a few established commercial real estate developers, such as Hang Lung and Sun Hung Kai from Hong Kong, and Wanda, COFCO, Longfor, and Poly from mainland China. Many companies lack successful project experiences and complete development mechanisms, making them uncertain even with high salaries. Second, commercial real estate is a high-investment, high-return industry closely related to urban economic levels and consumer capabilities. Location selection is critical, and success in first-tier cities does not necessarily translate to second-tier cities, limiting choices for industry insiders. Third, due to the talent shortage, many companies turn to residential real estate for talent, but commercial real estate and residential real estate are entirely different concepts requiring professionalism, complexity, and foresight. High requirements for professional competence deter some mid- to senior-level talents from advancing. Although the purchase restrictions have a significant impact on the real estate market, the main affected group is sales personnel. Mid- to senior-level composite talents in development financing, leasing management, marketing planning, project expansion, and operation management are less affected. For newcomers with less than three years of work experience, switching jobs can easily lead to salary doubling or position promotion, but for mid- to senior-level talents, achieving significant salary increases or promotions upon changing jobs is not easy. Therefore, many prefer stability during this turbulent period.
The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and retail industries continue to thrive.
In August, the FMCG sector (food/beverage/cosmetics) and the retail industry stood out in recruitment demand among various industries. According to statistics from the Worry-Free Index, the number of online job postings in the FMCG sector consistently followed the real estate industry, ranking fourth among all industries in terms of online job postings. Except for the seasonal adjustment period in January and a slight decline in May, the sector has been growing steadily. The wholesale/retail industry, aside from slight declines in May and July, has been generally on the rise since the beginning of the year (see chart). Deloitte China recently released the "China Retail Power 2011" report, which pointed out that the store growth rate of the top 100 chain enterprises was 9.74% in 2010, the lowest in three years, but the growth rate of sales scale was 22.43%, far exceeding 13.5% in 2009, indicating a gradual shift towards refined efficiency-oriented development, with greater emphasis on improving the sales capability of individual stores, industry segmentation, and operational specialization.
Currently, because the domestic first- and second-tier city markets are basically saturated and online store resources are scarce, the battlefield for retail enterprises has extended to third- and fourth-tier cities and even rural markets. Deloitte pointed out in the report that when retail enterprises develop markets in third- and fourth-tier cities, the most important points to note are the consumers' psychological mindset, consumption habits, consumption patterns, and behaviors, which may differ greatly from those in first- and second-tier cities, as well as logistics management in these markets.
Regarding human resource issues faced by retail enterprises, Deloitte noted that China's retail industry completed in nearly 10 years what other countries took 40 years to achieve, resulting in insufficient talent supply due to the rapid development speed. Additionally, the relatively low average gross profit margin leads to average remuneration for employees, causing high employee turnover rates.
Despite potential impacts from factors such as overheating or sluggishness in the economy, the FMCG industry is closely related to people's livelihoods and has a high level of talent mobility, thus maintaining constant recruitment needs. However, wages for grassroots staff in the FMCG industry are relatively low, and the salaries of mid- to high-end talents are not particularly competitive compared to other industries. Moreover, busy periods in the FMCG industry involve many time-sensitive tasks, while during off-seasons, attention shifts to sales performance. When outlets are widely spread, mid- to high-level management talents, especially regional managers/directors, need to travel frequently, making the job demanding. Based on search results from the 51job job search engine, the FMCG industry mainly requires sales and marketing personnel, with larger recruitment volumes concentrated in positions such as sales representatives, account managers, and channel marketing roles. Many well-known companies are keenly seeking city managers responsible for developing sales operations, including channel development and suburban expansion.