Recruiting in China

A RECORD 1.05 million people applied for jobs at public job placement centers across the city last year, according to an annual labor market report.

Although most of the jobs attracted dozens of applicants, some occupations suffer from a shortage due to a lack of qualified professionals.

The report, released by the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau yesterday, said 73,000 people registered for jobs with the Shanghai Job Placement Center's Website (job.12333.gov.cn) last year. Another 32,000 applicants turned to the center's 19 branches throughout the city to find work.

The total number of applicants rose by nearly nine percent from 2005, with most job seekers being 16 to 24 years old and not holding a college degree. The number of jobs listed at the center hit 1.02 million last year, an eight percent increase from 2005.

Among all the positions, administrative jobs such as secretaries, human resource assistants and finance workers attracted the most applicants.

The center said 82,000 people applied for 34,000 secretary positions last year.

Wang Jiawen, a career information analyst at the center, said the strong competition should be attributed to these jobs' low entry requirements, which allowed job seekers with moderate communication skills to apply.

In contrast, many employers were having trouble filing technical jobs.

Only 17,000 applications were received for more than 29,000 technician positions posted last year, jobs that included digital machine operators, software programmers and computer maintenance workers.

Last year's bullish stock market also generated a huge demand for security investment analysts and consultants. Only about 62 percent of the 16,000 openings were filled, however, according to the report.