China's Labor Market Improved in Second Quarter But SMEs Need More, Report Shows
Guo Jinhui
DATE:  Jul 22 2021
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
China's Labor Market Improved in Second Quarter But SMEs Need More, Report Shows China's Labor Market Improved in Second Quarter But SMEs Need More, Report Shows

(Yicai Global) July 22 -- China’s labor market is recovering with more vacancies in the second quarter than a quarter earlier but small and medium-sized companies could benefit from more policy support, according to a think tank.

The CIER index, which compares new job openings to the number of jobseekers, reached 2.09 in the second quarter, rising from the figure of 1.66 logged in the first quarter, the China Institute for Employment Research said in a report yesterday. The number was 1.35 in the second quarter of 2020. A higher reading means more job supply.

The number of new employees sought by recruiters grew by almost 10.8 percent from a year ago as the Covid-19 pandemic was gradually brought under control, which accelerated production and business activity.

Big Winners

The report revealed which industries are having a large demand for labor, and how scale matters.

For the first time, the field of education and training surpassed the financial sector to rank No. 1 among the most actively hiring industries.

Big firms were recruiting on a larger scale than smaller ones. The CIER sub-index for large companies was 2.65 from April to June. The gauge for small firms was 0.89 while that of micro-sized ones was 1.07. Big companies' number of job openings jumped by 82% from the previous quarter while SMEs added 15 percent more jobs.

SMEs are less resilient in the face of risks when compared to large companies, Zeng Xiangquan, director of the CIER, said to Yicai Global.

SMEs don't offer as many remote work opportunities and have harder conditions to succeed so the country should support small and micro firms, Zeng added.

Since last year, the government has sought to help small and micro companies by lowering taxes and fees, increasing targeted loans and reducing interest rates, as well as offering subsidies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Editor: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi
 

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Keywords:   employment,SMES,educational training