(Yicai Global) June 7 -- People aged over 35 in China have less choice when it comes to job hunting and yet this is the age group that is most actively seeking employment, according to a recent survey.

There has been a 25 percent jump in the number of resumes sent out by job seekers aged over 35 in the past year, but a 20 percent fall in interviews, according to a poll conducted by recruitment platform 51Job. The average age of China’s urban workforce rose to 38 in 2019 from 33 in 1984.

It is much harder for people aged 35 and above to find work again after being laid off or resigning, the survey showed. Most end up being self-employed or working for small and mid-sized businesses. Over half of those polled said they would be willing to try flexible employment such as part-time work and freelancing. And 47.8 percent said they had found jobs in SMEs, particularly in the e-commerce and internet segments which are recruiting heavily.

Mature talents aged above 35 are the group facing the biggest difficulties in securing employment as it is harder for them to learn new internet-based skills and are thus they are doomed to be knocked out of the labor force, said the Shanghai-based platform's top human resources expert Feng Lijuan. Rather young labor is in huge demand because of companies’ digitization needs.

Those aged 35 and above tend to work in more ‘offline’ scenarios such as hospitality, retail, construction and services. All these sectors are more vulnerable to hits from Covid-19 and the overall economic downturn, with less job stability and fewer chances of re-employment.

Only 14.5 percent of those surveyed who planned to change jobs between February and April were able to do so, according to the results of another 51Job survey published last month. Of those who were successful, less than 20 percent were older than 35.

Only 15 percent of the recruitment ads on 51Job require 'at least 10 years' work experience.' Rather, more than 60 percent of job openings only ask for between one and five years' experience.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor