(Yicai Global) Feb. 10 -- China's average salary rose 14.5 percent in the first week after the Chinese New Year holiday, the findings of a new report published today by recruitment site Zhaopin show.

Average monthly remuneration in 38 core cities was CNY9,311 (USD1,333.4) in the week ended Feb. 7, with the highest-paying sector -- finance -- still leading the way in hiring, according to the report which was based on 14,574 valid questionnaire responses and survey data.

Six management and research and development posts were among the top 10 highest-paying advertised. Senior managers in businesses can earn CNY23,232 (USD3,328) a month, a 20-percent annual increase, per the report.

Beijing led among cities with an average monthly salary of CNY12,326, while the average in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou exceeded CNY10,000. In Wuhan, a city in lockdown since the novel coronavirus outbreak, it was as high as CNY9,637, a 27-percent increase from a year ago that pushed Wuhan into the ranks of the high-salary cities.

The number of corporate hiring posts in the week declined almost 72 percent compared with the same period last year, and the number of job applications fell more than 83 percent, according to the report.

Competition among job seekers in the real estate sector was the fiercest, and the financial field also remained popular during the epidemic prevention and control period. With people watching dramas online at home amid the outbreak, the popularity of the culture and media sector has gained.

The proportion of job positions advertised in the pharmaceutical/biological engineering sector and in education has also increased due to the epidemic. And all kinds of courses have been forced to shift online with mature technologies and market impetus sorely required.

Wuhan's salary spike is largely due to the epidemic. Demand for recruits in professional services, real estate, education and training in the capital of Hubei province capital, the outbreak's epicenter, has expanded greatly compared with last year. Hiring for the internet is also expanding.

These are important sectors in the fight against the epidemic, so remuneration in these sectors will increase, Zhaopin said in the report.

Editor: Peter Thomas