BEIJING, Jan. 19, 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 lifecycles, and the China Institute for Employment Research
("CIER") at Renmin University released the CIER Employment
Index Report for the fourth quarter of 2016. The labor market in
China maintained its upward trend
as the CIER index reached its highest level since the first quarter
of 2015, providing a favorable environment for job seekers.
Based on data from Zhaopin's online 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, 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.
China Fourth-Quarter 2016 Labor Market Highlights:
- The labor market in China kept
its upward momentum in the fourth quarter of 2016 with the CIER
index reaching 2.41, the highest since the first quarter of 2015,
compared with 2.22 in the third quarter and 1.93 in the second
quarter of 2016. This is an indication of bright prospects for
those seeking new employment.
- Internet and e-commerce continued to be the best-performing
sector and energy/mineral/mining/smelting remained the
worst-performing sector.
- Except for Northeast China,
the CIER index for all other regions improved in the fourth quarter
from the third quarter of 2016.
- Micro-sized companies (companies with fewer than 20 employees)
had the highest CIER index score of 2.10 in the fourth quarter of
2016, followed by 1.81 for large companies (companies with more
than 10,000 employees).
- The CIER index is very likely to decline in the first quarter
of 2017.
CIER Index Reaching All Year High in the Fourth Quarter of
2016
The job market in China had
been on a declining trajectory in 2015 as the economic growth
slowed down. With the overall economy improving in 2016, the job
market reversed its declining trend and started to move upward
since the second quarter of 2016. The momentum continued in the
fourth quarter with the CIER index reaching 2.41, the highest level
since the first quarter of 2015, compared with 2.22 in the third
quarter and 1.93 in the second quarter of 2016.
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 fourth
quarter of 2016 showed a significant increase, indicating the
continuing improvement in China's
labor market.
According to Zhaopin's data, total online recruitment demand
increased by 43% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016,
compared with a 35% year-over-year growth in the third quarter of
2016. As the economy improved, the labor market in China had gained momentum in the fourth
quarter with increasing job demand year-over-year.
CIER Index by Sectors
With the economy continuing to undergo a shift from an
industrial, manufacturing-based economy to one that is more
service-based", the performance of different sectors continued to
polarize in the fourth quarter of 2016. Internet and e-commerce was
still the best-performing sector with a CIER index of 10.89, up
from 7.28 in the third quarter. Insurance,
funds/securities/futures/investment, traffic/transportation and
intermediary service sectors were also performing well by CIER
index rankings.
Ten
best-performing sectors in the fourth quarter of
2016
|
Ranking
|
Sector
|
CIER
index
|
1
|
Internet/e-commerce
|
10.89
|
2
|
Insurance
|
5.69
|
3
|
Funds/securities/futures/investment
|
5.39
|
4
|
Traffic/transportation
|
5.08
|
5
|
Intermediary
service
|
4.99
|
6
|
Farming/forestry/animal husbandry/fishery
|
4.67
|
7
|
Computer
software
|
4.20
|
8
|
Education/training/college
|
3.38
|
9
|
Media/publishing/film
and television/culture dissemination
|
3.33
|
10
|
Real
estate/construction/building materials/engineering
|
3.30
|
The worst performing sectors by CIER index ranking in the fourth
quarter of 2016 included energy/mineral/mining/smelting,
printing/packaging/papermaking, and
inspection/testing/authentication. These traditional industries
were under great pressure from the economic restructuring. Still, a
positive sign was that the CIER index for these industries did
improve in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter of
2016.
Ten
worst-performing sectors in the fourth quarter of
2016
|
Ranking
|
Sector
|
CIER
index
|
1
|
Energy/mineral/mining/smelting
|
0.35
|
2
|
Printing/packaging/papermaking
|
0.38
|
3
|
Inspection/testing/authentication
|
0.40
|
4
|
Environmental
protection
|
0.42
|
5
|
Office supplies and
equipment
|
0.43
|
6
|
Petroleum/petrochemical/chemical
|
0.46
|
7
|
Electricity/power/water conservancy
|
0.54
|
8
|
Instruments/apparatuses/industrial
automation
|
0.57
|
9
|
Medical
equipment/apparatus and instruments
|
0.59
|
10
|
Property management/business center
|
0.60
|
IT and internet sector continued to generate huge
job demand and to attract an influx of talents. In the fourth
quarter of 2016, the job demand from this sector jumped by 48%
year-over-year. Computer software posted the fast growth of 84% in
job demand in the fourth quarter year-over-year. Most e-commerce
companies had year-end promotions in the fourth quarter, which
resulted in a 47% increase in job demand from internet/e-commerce
companies.
Year-over-year
change in recruitment demand for
IT/Internet sector in the fourth quarter of 2016
|
IT/Internet
|
48%
|
IT service (system,
data, maintenance)
|
15%
|
Internet/e-commerce
|
47%
|
Computer
software
|
84%
|
Computer
hardware
|
19%
|
Online games
|
19%
|
The real estate sector was still an important industry
with increasing job demand in the fourth quarter of 2016, even
though many cities had imposed purchase restrictions to curb the
real estate bubble. The overall job demand in the sector went up
37% in the fourth quarter year-over-year.
Year-over-year
change in recruitment demand for
real estate sector in the fourth quarter of 2016
|
Nationwide
|
37%
|
First-tier
cities
|
12%
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
45%
|
Second-tier
cities
|
55%
|
Third-tier
cities
|
61%
|
The financial sector saw recruitment demand increased by
19% in the fourth quarter of 2016 year-over-year, below the average
growth rate of 43% nationwide.
Year-over-year
change in recruitment demand for
financial sector in the fourth quarter of 2016
|
Nationwide
|
19%
|
First-tier
cities
|
12%
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
33%
|
Second-tier
cities
|
21%
|
Third-tier
cities
|
20%
|
Traffic/transportation sector enjoyed the highest growth
in job demand among all sectors with an 82% increase in the fourth
quarter of 2016 year-over-year. The central and local governments
had approved huge investments to improve the transportation
infrastructure. The year-end promotions by e-commerce companies
also created surging demand for courier services.
CIER Index by Regions and Cities
In the fourth quarter of 2016, Eastern
China had the highest CIER index score of 2.07, followed by
1.94 for Central China and 1.77
for Western China. Except for
Northeast China, the CIER index
for all other regions improved in the fourth quarter over the third
quarter of 2016. Among all regions, Central China saw the fastest increase in job
demand at 73% in the fourth quarter year-over-year.
Northeast China was still the
lowest with a CIER index score of 1.40 in the fourth quarter of
2016, the same as the third quarter. However, there were some
positive signs as the government has introduced new initiatives to
rejuvenate the economy in Northeast
China. The job demand in the region increased by 59% in the
fourth quarter year-over-year, higher than the 35% growth in the
third quarter.
CIER index by
regions
|
Region
|
4Q
CIER
|
3Q
CIER
|
Eastern
China
|
2.07
|
1.75
|
Central
China
|
1.94
|
1.69
|
Western
China
|
1.77
|
1.59
|
Northeast
China
|
1.40
|
1.40
|
With the development of the internet economy, emerging
first-tier cities and lower-tier cities witnessed faster economic
growth than first-tier cities, leading to more job demand in these
cities and higher CIER index scores in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The job market in the first-tier cities had become saturated with a
CIER index of only 0.93 in the fourth quarter.
CIER index by
cities
|
City
|
4Q
CIER
|
3Q
CIER
|
First-tier
cities
|
0.93
|
0.80
|
Emerging first-tier
cities
|
1.48
|
1.34
|
Second-tier
cities
|
2.23
|
1.63
|
Third-tier
cities
|
2.46
|
2.22
|
CIER Index by Size of Companies
Micro-sized companies (companies with fewer than 20 employees)
had the highest CIER index score of 2.10 in the fourth quarter of
2016, followed by 1.81 for large companies (companies with more
than 10,000 employees) and 1.18 for mid-sized companies (companies
with 500 to 9,999 employees). Small-sized companies (companies with
20 to 499 employees) scored the lowest at 1.05.
CIER index by size
of companies
|
Company
size
|
4Q
CIER
|
3Q
CIER
|
Large-sized (more than
10,000 employees)
|
1.81
|
1.42
|
Mid-sized (500 to 9,999
employees)
|
1.18
|
1.01
|
Small-sized (20
to 499 employees)
|
1.05
|
0.84
|
Micro-sized (fewer than
20 employees)
|
2.10
|
3.11
|
The CIER index for micro-sized companies declined to 2.10 in the
fourth quarter of 2016, down from 3.11 in the third quarter and
3.58 in the second quarter. Many of these micro-sized companies
were still in the start-up stages and some had short lifecycles.
However, such micro-sized companies were still the most dynamic
companies in China. During the
first three quarters of 2016, an average of 14,600 start-up
companies were registered each day, which had created huge job
demand in China.
Labor Market Outlook
The CIER index is very likely to decline in the first quarter of
2017 with seasonality factors, the long-term demographic trend and
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 September 30, 2016, number of registered users as
of September 30, 2016 and number of
unique customers[2] 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 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.
[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 September 30,
2016, the number of registered users as of September 30, 2016 and
the number of unique customers for the three months ended September
30, 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.
|
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
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SOURCE Zhaopin Limited