A Comprehensive Dataset

A vast majority of Chinese companies post their recruitment information on the internet. This type of publicly available information is abundant, covers a broad range of industries, provides specific job descriptions, and contains a wealth of skill-related data, thus can facilitate the creation of a comprehensive profile of human resources demand. By examining this information, this report sought to look at the trends in the demand for human resources on the part of listed companies in China, from the perspectives of salary, place of employment, academic background, work experience, hard or soft skills, and age and gender requirements. It further explores case studies concerning the country’s national development policies and developing industries, such as the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao, as well as in carbon neutrality, biotechnology, and semiconductors.

In examining the Chinese labour markets, the research team first turned their attention to the timing of recruitment by listed companies. In China, the months of March and April, which follow the Chinese New Year holidays, is typically a crucial window for companies to adjust their operations and relocate employees. Consequently, recruiting tends to surge during these two months. On the contrary, the team found (to their surprise) that September and October, traditionally peak business months and crucial times for companies to recruit people for expansion in the following year, no longer maintained high recruitment intensity. The results indicated that both the number of employing companies and the number of job postings began to decline from September, signaling the beginning of a low season for talent recruitment.

Geographically speaking, the work locations of job postings were concentrated in China’s four biggest tier-1 and smaller “new tier-1” cities, with Shanghai and Shenzhen topping the rankings in terms of the number of job postings. Companies offered the highest salaries in tier-1 cities Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, while new tier-1 cities, such as Hangzhou, saw significant salary growth in the same period. From 2017 to 2021, jobs in most cities also set higher requirements in terms of the prerequisite educational background for job applicants, as well as placing a higher threshold for work experience of at least three to five years.

Across different industries, the demand for talent in the computer and medical industries was the highest, while that in the non-bank-based finance and household electric appliance industries also experienced high growth. The demand for talent in the real estate industry actually declined. From 2017 to 2021, all industries saw an increase in demand for talent with between three to five years of experience.

IT, Soft Skills in High Demand

Looking at specific skillsets, the study found that in 2021, the demand for C++ programming skills among listed firms was significantly higher than that of any other skill, and this demand is continuing to rise. This means that C++, a “low-level” programming language that can be run directly on computer hardware without translation, plays an indispensable role in the industry. In addition, during the period from 2017 to 2021, the demand growth for Python, a popular programming language which is used for developing websites as well as data visualization, and front-end programming skills (which focuses on developing websites or applications that a user typically interacts directly with) were among the highest, reflecting the increasingly rich functions of internet products as well as the growing attention attached to user experience.

Meanwhile, the automobile industry also showed growing demand for fundamental IT skills such as C++ programming, communications, data analytics, software development, new energy and product design. In contrast, more traditional skills, such as in machinery, mechanical and electrical engineering, and CAD (Computer-Aided Design), suffered a fall in demand and this resulted in job postings with average salaries that were lower than the rest of the industry. This reflected that the automobile industry has shifted from manufacturing hardware alone to a blend of both hardware and software.

Among the softer skillsets, the thirst among listed firms for the most innovative talent has also increased year by year, indicating that businesses are generally conscious of the importance of the ability of its workforce to generate innovative ideas. This demand for the ability to innovate was positively correlated to job listing requirements related to educational background, work experience, and to the salary level. On the other hand, the desire among listed firms for staff who were more resilient to stress also increased year by year. Job postings which specify the need for higher stress resiliency tend to be less strict on academic and work experience requirements, while offering lower salaries.

Age and Gender Preferences of Employers

Among the job postings sample, the researchers noted a phenomenon whereby many job postings set an age limit, requiring applicants to be under the age of 35. At the city level, Wuhan and Zhengzhou had the most stringent age requirements for job applicants, while Hangzhou and Beijing placed significantly less emphasis on age. In addition, tier-1 cities imposed less stringent age limitations on candidates than new tier-1 and the even smaller tier-2 cities. Among the four tier-1 cities, Guangzhou had relatively tighter age requirements for job seekers.

It also found that heavy industries, such as those dealing with petroleum, petrochemicals, and non-ferrous metals, tend to prefer male job applicants. In contrast, light industries, such as in textile and apparel, tend to prefer female applicants. Where a job listing specifies gender preferences, they were frequently also coupled with requirements related to age, appearance, and height and which are related to the specialties and qualities required for the position. However, a better educational background, more work experience, and proven competency in the related roles tend to be conducive to helping reduce employer gender bias.

Based on the large-scale dataset, the team also conducted case studies on topics related to national development strategies and fast-growing industries such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (mainland portion), carbon neutrality, biomedicine, and semiconductors. Please also refer to the full report here in Chinese for more details.

Air pollution poses a serious threat to human health and takes a heavy toll on the economy. According to global environmental protection network Greenpeace, the global economic costs of air pollution were estimated at US$2.9 trillion in 2018, or around 3.3 percent of global GDP. Being the world’s most populous country and the largest consumer of coal, China is bearing the world’s highest cost of air pollution, which is estimated at US$900 billion a year. In recent years, China has rolled out various nationwide campaigns to combat air pollution. A recent research study has found that air pollution may lead to the outflow of talented executives from companies located in areas with poor air quality to those located in areas with good air quality.

The research Brain Drain: The Impact of Air Pollution on Firm Performance was jointly written by Zhang Bohui, Executive Associate Dean of the School of Management and Economics, and Presidential Chair Professor of Finance at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; Dr. Xue Shuyu at the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and Prof. Zhao Xiaofeng at Lingnan University.

“When health is an issue, there’s only so much you can do to lure people with pay.”

Prof. Zhang Bohui

It was less than a decade ago that Beijing, the country’s capital, was at the mercy of the infamous “airpocalypse”, a dense and suffocating smog that blanketed much of the city that sent many citizens to seek hospital care. Since then, the country has declared its war on pollution, setting new standards and targets for air pollution levels, revising its Environmental Protection Law to increase penalties for polluters and implementing a countrywide real-time air quality monitoring programme. As the study points out, a poor air quality environment would affect the accumulation of corporate human capital and eventually hamper a company’s performance.

“It is logical for people to choose to live in areas where they can actually breathe, especially for those who can afford to move,” says Prof. Zhang. “In our study, we found that as well-educated people become more aware of air pollution, they would make use of their higher incomes and job opportunities to move to places with better air quality.”

Pollution-driven Migration

The researchers first looked at the number of searches people made on Chinese search engine Baidu regarding where they want to work. They found that when the air quality becomes particularly bad in one region, the people in that region would display stronger interest in working in places with less pollution.

For instance, the researchers compared people’s interest in working in Beijing and Shenzhen, which are two big cities that provide similar levels of job opportunities but with the latter offering significantly better air quality. They found that when air pollution worsens in a given region, the interest among people in that region to work in Shenzhen increased by 12 percent while that for Beijing dropped by 6 percent.

After analysing employee composition data of publicly listed companies on both the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, the researchers discovered that the likelihood of companies located in more polluted areas having non-local (people who were not from that region but chose to move there to work) and highly-educated top executives went down by 5.9 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, after the implementation of an air quality monitoring programme, which is an efficient system to disclose air quality information to the public in real time. This programme had no direct impact on air quality, but significantly increased public access to information and awareness. In addition, the percentage of highly educated and talented employees in these companies also declined by 4.2 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

“Not only are these firms losing their talent to rivals located in areas with cleaner air, but they also seem to be having a hugely difficult time poaching high quality people whose jobs allow them to live in places with lower levels of air pollution no matter how much money they offer,” Prof. Zhang says. “When health is an issue, there’s only so much you can do to lure people with pay.”

Difference in Air Quality

Although the overall air quality of China is poor, some Chinese cities have slightly cleaner air than the rest. For example, cities in southern China, such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hangzhou have better air quality than northern Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Tianjin and Zhengzhou.

One reason for the air quality disparity between northern and southern China is the country’s central heating policy. China established a central heating policy to provide free heating to cities since the 1950s. Due to budget concerns, only northern cities are entitled to free heating because these areas have unbearable cold winters. The system relies on coal burning, which is the most polluting fossil fuel.

Another reason why some cities have poorer air quality than others is due to thermal inversions, a meteorological event that traps air pollutants and increases their concentration in the air. For example, Beijing, due to its geographical location, is highly susceptible to thermal inversions.

According to the study, companies located in cities on the northern side of the heating policy boundary have greater difficulty retaining talented executives and employees than their counterparts on the southern side. The researchers also looked at the impact of thermal inversions on Chinese cities, and found that companies with greater exposure to air pollution induced by thermal inversions are less likely to retain or attract non-local executives or top quality employees.

“Through no fault of their own, companies in more polluted places tend to suffer from brain drain. They tend to lose talent which consequently hurts their company performance,” says Prof. Zhang.

Performance Deterioration

According to the study, companies’ productivity and market value have recorded significant declines after the implementation of the air quality monitoring programme. In terms of numbers, an ordinary company located in a highly polluted region would experience a 19 percent decline in productivity and 7.8 percent drop in market value.

The declines are even more severe in companies that rely heavily on human capital. Particularly, firms in innovative industries were the worst hit, as their fortunes depend heavily on the ability of their workforce to generate creative ideas.

While air pollution sounds harmless to human, the researchers point out it can have an impact on the economy in many forms such as higher rates of asthma, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases leading to reduced ability to work and lower participation rates in the labor force. The study shows one of the economic consequences of a polluted environment and demonstrated the actual cost of air pollution. Concerned with the adverse health and environmental consequences from severe air pollution, the government of China has implemented a series of mitigation actions.

They note that China’s latest five-year development plan targeting the green development of its carbon-intensive industrial sector is a step in the right direction to tackle climate change. The plan released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology seeks to lower carbon intensity and pollutants and promote emerging green industries. China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter and coal consumer, aims to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060. Plans have been laid out by many energy-intensive industries, including steel, chemicals, building materials, and non-ferrous metals, to achieve these goals.

“Over the past five years, China has made significant achievements in environmental development and emphasized ‘green hills and clear waters’ as ‘golden and silver mountains.’ ” Prof. Zhang says. “We expect these efforts to attract more talent into this country and promote sustainable economic growth in the future.