(Yicai Global) Oct. 31 -- Overseas returnees to China make about USD16,300 (CNY108,000) annually (before money is taken out for taxes and welfare), per the 2017 Survey Report on Overseas Returnees' Employability, which Education International Cooperation Group, 51job.com and yingjiesheng.com published yesterday.

They based the report on 4,770 valid questionnaires received from 24 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing.

The US was respondents' most popular study abroad destination. Students who left to study in America were most likely to return. Postgraduates account for more than 70 percent of overseas returnees.

Most overseas returnees studied business. Finance, accounting, marketing management, economics, linguistics, electronic and electrical engineering and media were popular majors.

Some 41.4 percent of overseas returnees made less than CNY80,000, while 24.4 percent of them made CNY80,000 to CNY108,000 and 25.8 percent had an income between CNY108,000 and CNY200,000. The other 8.4 percent made more than CNY200,000 per year. Overseas returnees, especially those without previous work experience, made similar amounts to those who graduated from Chinese schools.

Four years ago, foreign enterprises and joint ventures employed the lion's share of overseas returnees. Private companies and those run by individuals; foreign enterprises and joint ventures; state-owned firms; and public institutions, universities and institutions for scientific research employed 51.9 percent, 22 percent, 13.6 percent and 6.3 percent of overseas returnees, respectively, per the 2017 Survey Report on Overseas Returnees' Employability.