BEIJING, April 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin Limited
(NYSE: ZPIN) ("Zhaopin" or the "Company"), a leading career
platform[1] in China focused on
connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their
career lifecycle, and the China Institute for Employment Research
("CIER") at Renmin University released the CIER Employment Index
Report for the first quarter of 2017.
With the overall economy gaining momentum in the first quarter
of 2017, the labor market in China
provided more opportunities for job seekers, compared with the same
period a year earlier.
China's First-Quarter 2017
Labor Market Highlights:
- The CIER index in the first quarter of 2017 rose to 1.91, from
1.71 during the same period of 2016, indicating the labor market
had improved with the economy. The measure declined from the fourth
quarter, due to seasonal factors.
- Internet and e-commerce continued to be the best-performing
sector and energy/mineral/mining/smelting remained the
worst-performing sector.
- Eastern China had the highest
CIER index score of 1.60, and Northeast
China was still lagging behind with the lowest CIER index of
1.17 in the first quarter of 2017.
- The job demand in second- and third-tier cities increased by
74% and 102%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2017
year-over-year.
- The CIER index is very likely to decline slightly in the second
quarter of 2017.
Methodology and how to interpret the data
Based on data from Zhaopin's online recruitment platform, the
CIER index tracks the ratio changes between job vacancies and job
seekers in a variety of industries and cities across the country,
and identifies the overall trend in China's employment market. Jointly published
by Zhaopin and the CIER at Renmin University every quarter, the
CIER index has become a leading barometer of China's labor market and macro-economic
environment.
The CIER index score is calculated by dividing the number of job
vacancies during a specified period by the number of unique job
seekers during the same period. A CIER index score of more than 1
indicates that the labor market is booming, with more vacancies
than job seekers. A CIER index score of less than 1 indicates that
the labor market competition is intensifying, with more job seekers
than available vacancies.
CIER Index Dipping with Seasonal Factors
As the overall economy in China
stabilized and improved in 2016, the job market reversed its
declining trend and moved upward, lifting the CIER index from 1.71
in the first quarter of 2016 to 2.41 in the fourth quarter of
2016.
In the first quarter of 2017, the economy continued to gain
momentum with the GDP growing by 6.9% year-over-year. Seasonal
factors in the first quarter, however, caused the CIER index to
drop to 1.91. The first quarter is the traditional peak season for
job hopping, meaning more white-collar workers were looking for new
opportunities, and college graduates also joined the market with
spring campus recruitments.
Compared with the same period of 2016, the CIER index was still
higher in the first quarter of 2017, indicating the labor market
had improved with the economy and providing a more favorable
environment for job seekers.
Excluding the effects of seasonality and changing demographics,
which have traditionally resulted in a long-term rise in the CIER
index scores, the quarterly adjusted CIER index for the first
quarter of 2017 dipped slightly from the fourth quarter of 2016,
but remained higher than the same period of 2016.
According to Zhaopin's data, total online recruitment demand
increased by 52% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2017,
compared with a 43% year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter of
2016. The pickup in recruitment demand was in line with the
momentum in the economy.
CIER Index by Sectors
The booming internet/e-commerce sector continued to be the
best-performer, with recruitment demand far exceeding the number of
job seekers. However, the CIER index for the sector declined to
9.21 in the first quarter of 2017 from 10.89 in the fourth quarter
of 2016 because of the high talent mobility in this busy
job-hopping season. Real estate/construction/building
materials/engineering sector edged into the top ten for two
consecutive quarters with the overheating property market in
China.
Ten
best-performing sectors in the first quarter of 2017
|
Ranking
|
Sector
|
CIER
index
|
1
|
Internet/e-commerce
|
9.21
|
2
|
Traffic/transportation
|
5.13
|
3
|
Insurance
|
5.12
|
4
|
Intermediary
service
|
4.40
|
5
|
Funds/securities/futures/investment
|
4.18
|
6
|
Computer
software
|
3.51
|
7
|
Farming/forestry/animal husbandry/fishery
|
3.15
|
8
|
Logistics/warehousing
|
3.03
|
9
|
IT service
(system/data/maintenance)
|
2.98
|
10
|
Real
estate/construction/building materials/engineering
|
2.78
|
Most of the worst performing sectors by CIER index ranking in
the first quarter of 2017 were traditional manufacturing
industries, which were suffering from overcapacity and economic
re-balancing. The CIER index for these sectors continued to decline
in the first quarter of 2017.
Ten
worst-performing sectors in the first quarter of
2017
|
Ranking
|
Sector
|
CIER
index
|
1
|
Energy/mineral/mining/smelting
|
0.32
|
2
|
Printing/packaging/papermaking
|
0.36
|
3
|
Petroleum/petrochemical/chemical
|
0.36
|
4
|
Environmental
protection
|
0.37
|
5
|
Instruments/apparatuses/industrial
automation
|
0.44
|
6
|
Inspection/testing/authentication
|
0.47
|
7
|
Property management/business center
|
0.50
|
8
|
Aerospace research
and manufacturing
|
0.54
|
9
|
Electricity/power/water conservancy
|
0.56
|
10
|
Medical
equipment/apparatus and instruments
|
0.58
|
IT and internet sector has become a key
driver for economic growth. In the first quarter of 2017, the job
demand from this sector jumped by 56% year-over-year nationwide.
Second- and third-tier cities were facing a shortage of IT talents
as job demand surged 81% and 100%, respectively.
Year-over-year
change in recruitment demand for
IT/Internet sector in the first quarter of 2017
|
Nationwide
|
56%
|
First-tier
cities
|
28%
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
76%
|
Second-tier
cities
|
81%
|
Third-tier
cities
|
100%
|
The financial sector saw a year-over-year increase of 17%
in recruitment demand in the first quarter of 2017. Third-tier
cities had the fastest growth in job demand showing a 78%
increase.
Year-over-year
change in recruitment demand for
financial sector in the first quarter of 2017
|
Nationwide
|
17%
|
First-tier
cities
|
2%
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
35%
|
Second-tier
cities
|
30%
|
Third-tier
cities
|
78%
|
The real estate sector generated a 51% growth in job
demand in the first quarter of 2017 year-over-year. The buoyant
property market has spilled from first-tier and emerging first-tier
cities to second- and third-tier cities. The soaring property
prices have boosted overall sector growth and created huge job
demand.
Year-over-year
change in recruitment demand for
real estate sector in the first quarter of 2017
|
Nationwide
|
51%
|
First-tier
cities
|
18%
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
55%
|
Second-tier
cities
|
80%
|
Third-tier
cities
|
103%
|
Traffic/transportation sector continued to enjoy fast
growth with job demand surging 96% in the first quarter of 2017
year-over-year. The central and local governments had intensified
investment in transportation infrastructure, which further
stimulated the sector's growth.
CIER Index by Regions and Cities
In the first quarter of 2017, Eastern
China had the highest CIER index score of 1.60, followed by
1.35 for Central China and 1.33
for Western China. Among all
regions, Central China had the
fastest growth in job demand at 86% in the first quarter of 2017
year-over-year.
Northeast China was still
lagging behind with the lowest CIER index of 1.17 in the first
quarter of 2017. With the government support and growth of the new
economy, the job demand in Northeast
China increased by 67% in the first quarter year-over-year,
higher than the 59% growth in the fourth quarter of 2016.
CIER index by
regions
|
Region
|
1Q 2017
CIER
|
4Q 2016
CIER
|
Eastern
China
|
1.60
|
2.07
|
Central
China
|
1.35
|
1.94
|
Western
China
|
1.33
|
1.77
|
Northeast
China
|
1.17
|
1.40
|
Smaller cities witnessed faster growth in job demand than larger
cities. The job demand in second- and third-tier cities increased
by 74% and 102% in the first quarter of 2017, respectively,
compared with 24% and 61% growth for first-tier cities and emerging
first-tier cities. The job market in first-tier cities was
saturated with a CIER index of 0.68 in the first quarter of
2017.
CIER index by
cities
|
City
|
1Q 2017
CIER
|
4Q 2016
CIER
|
First-tier
cities
|
0.68
|
0.93
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
1.00
|
1.48
|
Second-tier
cities
|
1.69
|
2.23
|
Third-tier
cities
|
2.14
|
2.46
|
CIER Index by Size of Companies
In the first quarter of 2017, the CIER index was slightly below
1 for medium-sized companies and small-sized companies, indicating
balanced job demand and supply for these companies. The CIER index
was above 1 for micro-sized companies and large companies, showing
the job demand exceeded job seekers for these companies.
CIER index by size
of companies
|
Company
size
|
1Q 2017
CIER
|
4Q 2016
CIER
|
Large-sized (more than
10,000 employees)
|
1.65
|
1.81
|
Medium-sized (500 to
9,999 employees)
|
0.92
|
1.18
|
Small-sized (20
to 499 employees)
|
0.85
|
1.05
|
Micro-sized (fewer than
20 employees)
|
2.09
|
2.10
|
Labor Market Outlook
The CIER index is very likely to decline slightly in the second
quarter of 2017 compared to first quarter of 2017 due primarily to
seasonality and potentially cyclical considerations.
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 December 31, 2016, number of registered users as
of December 31, 2016 and number of
unique customers[2] for the three months ended December 31, 2016. The Company's over 129.5
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[3] 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
[1] Zhaopin's website is the most popular career platform in
China as measured by average daily
unique visitors in each of the 12 months ended December 31, 2016, the number of registered users
as of December 31, 2016 and the
number of unique customers for the three months ended December 31, 2016.
[2] A "unique customer" refers to a customer that purchases the
Company's online recruitment services during a specified period.
Zhaopin makes adjustments for multiple purchases by the same
customer to avoid double counting. Each customer is assigned a
unique identification number in the Company's information
management system. Affiliates and branches of a given customer may,
under certain circumstances, be counted as separate unique
customers.
[3] Zhaopin calculates the number of job postings by counting
the number of newly placed job postings during each respective
period. Job postings that were placed prior to a specified period -
even if available during such period - are not counted as job
postings for such period. Any particular job posting placed on the
Company's website may include more than one job opening or
position.
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SOURCE Zhaopin Limited