ZHAOPIN LTD (ADR) BEIJING, Sept. 11, 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 through their career lifecycle, found in its 2017 fall survey that the confidence of white-collar workers in their career outlooks waned sharply, and that they were less likely to change jobs compared with this spring.
Zhaopin conducted its fall research and survey in August 2017 to gauge white-collar workers' confidence in their careers, their intentions to switch jobs and their sense of belonging to the cities where they live. More than 24,300 white collar workers participated in this nationwide survey.
Highlights of Zhaopin survey for fall 2017:
-- The confidence of white-collar workers in their career development
dropped significantly to 2.99, compared with 3.95 in the spring. The
confidence index is measured from 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest.
-- Only 32% of white-collar workers were confident or very confident in
their career opportunities, plummeting from 69.7% this spring.
-- More than 60% of white-collar workers were taking actions to seek new
jobs in the fall, down from nearly 80% in the spring.
-- The most important reason for job-hopping was still salary/welfare, with
59.3% of white-collar workers considering a change in jobs because of
unsatisfactory pay and welfare packages.
-- White-collar workers had a strong sense of belonging to the cities in
which they live. The index for sense of belonging was 3.42 out of 5 in
the fall 2017.
Sharp decline in confidence
The confidence of white-collar workers in their career development dropped significantly to 2.99, compared with 3.95 this spring. The confidence index is measured from 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest. In fall 2017, only 32% of white-collar workers were confident or very confident in their career opportunities, plummeting from 69.7% in the spring. Meanwhile, 34.5% of white-collars had low or no confidence in their careers in the fall, compared with only 8.6% in spring 2017.
Confidence Index 2015 - 2017
----------------------------
Year Index
---- -----
Spring 2015 3.72
----------- ----
Fall 2015 2.21
--------- ----
Spring 2016 3.26
----------- ----
Fall 2016 3.07
--------- ----
Spring 2017 3.95
----------- ----
Fall 2017 2.99
--------- ----
Dongguan (3.27) enjoyed the highest confidence from white-collar workers in the fall of 2017, followed by Hangzhou (3.21), Suzhou (3.12) and Nanchang (3.10). Compared with the heavy pressures in first-tier cities, white-collars workers in emerging first-tier and some second-tier cities were more confident and enthusiastic in their careers.
Top 10 Cities in Confidence Index
---------------------------------
Ranking City Index
------- ---- -----
1 Dongguan 3.27
--- -------- ----
2 Hangzhou 3.21
--- -------- ----
3 Suzhou 3.12
--- ------ ----
4 Nanchang 3.10
--- -------- ----
5 Beijing 3.06
--- ------- ----
6 Shenzhen 3.06
--- -------- ----
7 Harbin 3.05
--- ------ ----
8 Nanjing 3.04
--- ------- ----
9 Zhengzhou 3.04
--- --------- ----
10 Shenyang 3.03
--- -------- ----
In terms of work experience, the more experience, the more confident white-collar workers became. Those with over 10 years of experience had the highest confidence of 3.23, while those with less than one year of experience suffered the lowest confidence of 2.78.
Confidence Index by Work Experience
-----------------------------------
Experience Index
---------- -----
Within 1 year 2.78
------------- ----
1-3 years 2.91
--------- ----
3-5 years 2.97
--------- ----
5-8 years 3.05
--------- ----
8-10 years 3.16
---------- ----
Over 10 years 3.23
------------- ----
A more cautious approach to switching jobs
With decreasing confidence, white-collar workers became more cautious in switching jobs in the fall. There were still more than 60% of white-collar workers taking actions to seek new jobs in the fall, but that was down from nearly 80% in the spring.
According to Zhaopin's survey, 13.7% of white-collar workers were in the process of quitting or onboarding in the fall, and 51% were looking for new opportunities with updated resumes. The other 31.7% of white collar workers indicated intentions to switch jobs without any action taken yet. Only 3.6% indicated that they would not consider job-hopping.
Job-hopping Intention
---------------------
Intention/action Percentage
---------------- ----------
In the process of quitting or onboarding 13.7%
---------------------------------------- ----
Looking for new opportunities with
updated resumes 51.0%
---------------------------------- ----
Having intention but no action yet 31.7%
---------------------------------- ----
No intention 3.6%
------------ ---
Guangzhou was the city with the highest percentage of job-hoppers (70.9%) in the fall 2017, followed by Wuhan (68.7%) and Shenzhen (68.6%).
Top 10 Cities with Job-hopping Actions
--------------------------------------
Ranking City Percentage of Taking Actions
------- ---- ----------------------------
1 Guangzhou 70.9%
--- --------- ----
2 Wuhan 68.7%
--- ----- ----
3 Shenzhen 68.6%
--- -------- ----
4 Xi'an 68.5%
--- ----- ----
5 Urumqi 68.4%
--- ------ ----
6 Dongguan 68.2%
--- -------- ----
7 Shanghai 66.9%
--- -------- ----
8 Beijing 66.5%
--- ------- ----
9 Chengdu 66.2%
--- ------- ----
10 Nanchang 66.1%
--- -------- ----
The most important reason for job-hopping was salary/welfare, according to the survey, with 59.3% of white-collar workers considering a change in jobs because of unsatisfactory pay and welfare packages. Also, 44% wanted to quit their jobs due to the uncertain prospects of their companies. Promotion limits and imbalance of work and life were also key concerns for white collars to jump ship.
Reasons for Job-hopping
-----------------------
Reason Percentage
------ ----------
Salary/welfare 59.3%
-------------- ----
Uncertain prospects of companies 44.0%
-------------------------------- ----
Promotion limits 36.2%
---------------- ----
Imbalance of work and life 23.9%
-------------------------- ----
Superior-subordinate/co-workers
relationship 19.9%
------------------------------- ----
Not interested in current work 18.8%
------------------------------ ----
Better opportunities 8.9%
-------------------- ---
Hoping to move to another city 8.3%
------------------------------ ---
Others 8.5%
------ ---
The fall survey found that 50.2% of white-collar workers would join start-up companies when they considered different job-hopping opportunities and 27.8% would not consider start-ups. Instability and high risk was the top reason that deterred white-collars from joining start-up companies.
Reasons for Not Choosing Start-ups
----------------------------------
Reason Percentage
------ ----------
Instability and high risk of
start-ups 64.9%
---------------------------- ----
Need to accumulate more
experience before joining
start-ups 40.3%
-------------------------- ----
Limited resources at start-ups
for capability improvement 27.1%
------------------------------ ----
Too much pressures at start-ups 21.5%
------------------------------- ----
Others 10.5%
------ ----
Strong sense of belonging
Zhaopin's survey found that white-collar workers had a strong sense of belonging to the cities in which they live. The index for sense of belonging was 3.42 in the fall 2017. The belonging index is measured from 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest.
Chongqing (3.78) enjoyed the strongest sense of belonging from white-collar workers, followed by Changsha (3.74) and Shenyang (3.73). None of the four first-tier cities edged into the top 10 for sense of belonging because of their fast pace of living, high costs and competitive pressures.
Top 10 Cities for Sense of Belonging
------------------------------------
Ranking City Index
------- ---- -----
1 Chongqing 3.78
--- --------- ----
2 Changsha 3.74
--- -------- ----
3 Shenyang 3.73
--- -------- ----
4 Tianjin 3.71
--- ------- ----
5 Shijiazhuang 3.66
--- ------------ ----
6 Chengdu 3.64
--- ------- ----
7 Guiyang 3.64
--- ------- ----
8 Changchun 3.63
--- --------- ----
9 Nanjing 3.62
--- ------- ----
10 Taiyuan 3.61
--- ------- ----
The biggest contributor for sense of belonging was "good medical facilities" (57.6%) in their city, Zhaopin's survey found. Other key reasons included "parents, relatives and friends living in the same city" (48.5%), and "convenient living" (35.6%).
Reasons for Sense of Belonging
------------------------------
Reason Percentage
------ ----------
Good medical facilities 57.6%
----------------------- ----
Parents, relatives and friends
living in the same city 48.5%
------------------------------ ----
Convenient living 35.6%
----------------- ----
More opportunities with space to
grow 33.1%
-------------------------------- ----
Used to life in the city 6.2%
------------------------ ---
The top reason for lacking a sense of belonging was "still renting without own apartment" (52.8%), followed by "high living cost and pressure" (50.2%) and "lack of significant other" (33.6%), according to Zhaopin's survey.
Reasons for Lacking a Sense of Belonging
----------------------------------------
Reason Percentage
------ ----------
Still renting without own
apartment 52.8%
------------------------- ----
High living cost and pressure 50.2%
----------------------------- ----
Lack of significant other 33.6%
------------------------- ----
Not living with parents 33.3%
----------------------- ----
Could not adapt to local
culture and environment 19.2%
------------------------ ----
Without hukou, children could
not go to school 11.2%
----------------------------- ----
Zhaopin's survey found that 37.4% of white-collar workers would move back to their hometowns when there's an opportunity, 23.2% already live in their hometowns and 25.1% would not go back to their hometowns.
The key reasons for willingness to return to hometowns were to be "close to parents" (78.2%), "enjoying life without much pressure" (31.1%) and "better environment" (29.7%)
Reasons for Returning to Hometowns
----------------------------------
Reason Percentage
------ ----------
Close to parents 78.2%
---------------- ----
Enjoying life without much
pressure 31.1%
-------------------------- ----
Better environment 29.7%
------------------ ----
Children could go to school 22.6%
--------------------------- ----
"Used to current life and do not want to start all over again" (47.1%) was the top reason for not being willing to go back to one's hometown. "Don't want to give up current job" (40.2%) and "enjoy current convenient life" (37.9%) were also reasons that kept white-collar workers from going home.
Reasons for Not Returning to Hometowns
--------------------------------------
Reason Percentage
------ ----------
Already get used to current
life and do not want to start
all over again 47.1%
------------------------------ ----
Don't want to give up current
job 40.2%
----------------------------- ----
Enjoy current convenient life 37.9%
----------------------------- ----
Enjoy current cultural
environment 22.8%
---------------------- ----
Relatives and friends already
left hometown 18.1%
----------------------------- ----
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 June 30, 2017, number of registered users as of June 30, 2017 and number of unique customers([2]) for the three months ended June 30, 2017. The Company's over 140.0 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, 2017, approximately 49.3 million job postings([3]) were placed on Zhaopin's platform by 613,083 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 June 30, 2017, the number of
registered users as of June 30, 2017
and the number of unique customers
for the three months ended June 30,
2017.
[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
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zhaopin-china-white-collar-career-confidence-drops-sharply-in-fall-300516912.html
SOURCE Zhaopin Limited
