Recruiting in China

51job, Inc. (Nasdaq: JOBS), a leading provider of integrated human resource services in China, announced today that its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2012 has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The annual report on Form 20-F can be accessed through 51job's investor relations website at http://ir.51job.com.

The Company will provide a hard copy of its annual report on Form 20-F, which includes its audited financial statements, free of charge to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests should be directed to the Investor Relations Department at Building 3, No. 1387, Zhang Dong Road, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China.

About 51job
51job, Inc. (Nasdaq: JOBS) is a leading provider of integrated human resource services in China with a strong focus on recruitment related services. Through online recruitment services at www.51job.com and print advertisements in 51job Weekly, 51job enables enterprises to attract, identify and recruit employees and connects millions of job seekers with employment opportunities. 51job also provides a number of other value-added human resource services, including business process outsourcing, training, executive search and compensation and benefits analysis. 51job has a call center in Wuhan and a nationwide sales office network spanning 25 cities across China.
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Recent statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the average pre-tax salary for workers in the Chinese automobile industry is now at 13.58 yuan ($2.178) per hour, according to a report appearing on auto.163.com today. The salary level is considered average in the overall Chinese manufacturing industry. Furthermore, statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics further reveal that wages in the Chinese manufacturing industry have doubled from 2002 to 2008, while those in the US have only increased by 20 percent. Despite these advances, average wages for workers in the industry in China are just four percent of the average level in the US.

As far as the country's automobile industry is concerned, it is also important to differentiate between domestic own brand manufacturers and Sino-foreign joint venture enterprises. Statistics from Aon Hewitt Consulting show that wages in that monthly wages for first-class workers at Chinese automobile manufacturers can vary between 1,800 yuan and 4,000 yuan ($288.81-$641.79). This difference is most noticeable in yearly bonuses. Last year, FAW-VW awarded its workers with a yearly bonus of between 50,000 yuan and 80,000 yuan ($8,022-$12,836), nearly ten times greater the bonuses granted by domestic manufacturers Chery and Jianghuai.

The large discrepancy in pay between the Chinese and American automobile industries is also evident among company executives. The combined annual salaries of 15 top level executives from nine of China's largest domestic manufacturers–BYD, Great Wall, Geely, JMC, Foton, GAC, SAIC, Yutong and Sinotruck–in 2012 was calculated to be 24.78 million yuan ($3.97m), only around one-fifth of Ford CEO Alan Mulally's annual salary of $20.99 million.

Got an eye for the obscene? A Chinese company is advertising a position that would require the successful candidate to spend his or her days trawling the Web for pornography.

Applications are flooding in for the job, which pays an annual salary of 200,000 yuan ($32,400), while the ad has aroused much discussion among netizens.

Safety Alliance, an organization that aims to clean up the online environment, published the job ad on Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese micro-blogging website, on April 10, in which it seeks to recruit a chief appraiser who can identify obscene information on the Internet.

Besides this post, the alliance is also seeking Web editors and professionals who can identify fraud and malware online.

"But the position specializing in tackling online pornography is the most popular among applicants," said Yang Jilong, the alliance's human resources chief, adding that the organization is still under preparation and will be formally established next month.

The post requires applicants to have an ability to identify obscenity and pornography online and have a good knowledge of foreign languages and laws, according to Yang.

By Wednesday, the advertisement on the alliance's micro blog had been forwarded almost 130,000 times, and around 300,000 people left messages requesting further information about the job, he said.

The alliance has received more than 5,000 resumes, most for the position of the chief porn appraiser, Yang said.

Nearly 800 companies, including Baidu, Tencent and China Merchants Bank, have become members of the alliance, which aims to crack down on obscene information and explore better ways to prevent netizens, especially young people, from accessing unhealthy websites.

"As we find vulgar information and safety risks on websites, we'll remind Web users with an online label, while for those that we're not sure about, we'll ask law school professors and government administrators for help," he said.

The alliance has five employees to do selection work, "but we need a team leader, which is why we posted the ad", he said.

Cai Yifan, a 23-year-old applicant from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said he heard about the job through Tencent Weibo and had already sent his resume.

The graduate, who majored in English and is proficient in Japanese, took part in an online test for the job, but claimed it was too difficult.

"The questions covered many fields, such as translation, legal knowledge and psychology. I'm interested in the job, but my chances of success are very small, as the standards were too high," he added.

Another applicant, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed. He said one of questions required them to name works of art that are often regarded as pornographic.

"But I think that people's opinions vary widely on an issue like this," he added.

Yang Shuo, a specialist with a decade of experience in cyber management, is not optimistic about the effectiveness of the new post, saying it is hard to distinguish unhealthy information.

Many Web companies employ people to select and delete obscene messages, "but it's impossible to classify all information online, because there is no legal definition of pornography in China," he explained.

Some foreign websites required users to provide their age or identity if they want to access certain content, said Yang Shuo.

"In this way, the website can confirm whether the user is a minor or not, and then provide suitable information for him or her," he said.

But Liu Honghui, a Beijing lawyer specializing in online cases, said that the new post would help to clean up China's online environment.

"Although there are no standards and the alliance's appraisal may not be authorized, it's still a good move. The increasing number of applicants means more people hope cyberspace can be a healthier place," he added.

The Makeevs are leaving Beijing this summer. It was a tough decision for the family to make. They've lived here for a decade and have grown attached to the capital's ways, its oddities and its quirks.

But the air pollution, amid a number of concerns, finally became too much for the Russian couple after giving birth to a baby girl last September.

In their home near the East Fourth Ring Road across from Chaoyang Park, the couple stays at home as much as possible on heavily polluted days. Their air purifier runs around the clock, windows stay closed and masks are a must when they do go out.

"Beijing's air got worse in the last year, and this winter was especially bad," said Makeev, who runs an export business in Beijing.

The heavy smog that blanketed eastern parts of China for much of the winter triggered international attention to China's air pollution issue, especially in the capital where some 200,000 expatriates reside.

The US embassy's air quality index classified pollution levels as "beyond the index" several times in January. However, the official index put out by environmental authorities, which usually stands in contrast to the US embassy data, also showed in parts of Beijing that the pollution levels were too high to be read at monitoring stations.

Staying away

"We feel drowsy, we get headaches, we cough. We even noticed differences in the baby's behavior, as she gets cranky and doesn't sleep well," Makeev said. He explained that in Russia, it's common to spend at least two to three hours daily outside to let babies get fresh air.

Besides air pollution, Makeev also worries about food and water quality. The comfortable and cheap cocoon that lured many expats to Beijing is cracking. Rents are up, high prices are being charged for low-quality products and traffic is an ever-worsening chore, he said. The increasingly evident wealth gap is also making him uncomfortable.

In pursuit of better climate and business opportunities, the couple has decided to leave for Malaysia soon.

Makeev's worries are shared among many in the expat community in Beijing, and the couple are not the only ones planning on leaving.

There were at least two high-profile cases of foreigners asking to be repatriated in January, when PM2.5 readings in Beijing climbed to over 800, said Max Price, a partner at Antal International China office, a global executive recruitment corporation. A PM2.5 reading over 500 is already considered serious pollution.

Price told the Global Times that a high-ranking lawyer and a senior technical professional working for two German automobile companies respectively insisted on being repatriated to their original countries and left.

"When I speak to my international colleagues, their first questions are never about how business is going or how I am doing personally. They always ask about the pollution," he said. "It's really something I never experienced before."

When speaking to people as a recruiter, quality of life used to be the third question following the actual duties of the job and the salary, but now it has jumped to second on the list, Price said, adding that this mainly happens with people with families.

A lot of foreigners who are keen on staying in China are turning their attention toward second-tier or third-tier cities, as these have increased employment options and better air quality, said Price.

The recent H7N9 bird flu outbreak has also come to complicate matters.

"A lack of communication and a limited number of reports have made people fear the worse and compare it with the SARS outbreak 10 years ago," he said, noting that these aspects are making Beijing and Shanghai less attractive than other Chinese cities to expats.

Although there is no official data on how many foreigners are leaving Beijing or tourists staying away for fear of the pollution, the Beijing municipal tourism data showed a slump of foreign visitors in February and March this year compared to 2012.

According to the statistics, Beijing saw 165,000 foreign visitors in February, 37 percent less than last year.

Protect yourselves

January's heavy smog has led to anxious discussions among Beijing residents who have been scrambling for protection such as air purifiers and air pollution masks. All the major brands sold out quickly, and many are still out of stock due to soaring demand.

At the meantime, the non-medical term "Beijing cough" went viral on social media in January, referring to the dry cough and scratchy throat suffered by foreigners upon arrival in Beijing.

Richard Saint Cyr, a family medicine physician at Beijing United Family Hospital, told the Global Times that most doctors at the hospital, especially in the emergency room, had not noticed an extraordinary increase in respiratory problems.

"But I certainly saw many people coming in with asthma exacerbations or serious coughing. I've had discussions with a few patients, both foreign and local, who are thinking of leaving Beijing due to the pollution," he said.

Sean Dugdale, an American exchange student with Peking University, said he was hoping to work in Beijing after college but had given up that idea because of the pollution.

When the smog hit the city, Dugdale's family grew worried and sent him an e-mail with pictures showing the smog-covered Tiananmen Square. He has now decided to return to the US after his one-year exchange program ends.

Over the past four or five months, Price noticed cases where some foreigners, mostly at American companies, are asking for "danger money" when negotiating a contract with employers if they are to continue working in Beijing.

Danger money, he explained, is an extra bonus one asks for when confronted with safety risks in the country of employment. Traditionally, this is associated with nations like Angola and Nigeria, where security risks are high, and roughly amounts to 10 percent of one's annual salary package.

"I think many young people are more willing to trade the pollution off against the opportunities that are available in Beijing, particularly given the economy in many western countries right now," said Ashley Howlett, a partner at global law firm Jones Day's Beijing office.

He said there are still a lot of foreigners seeking job opportunities in Beijing, although it is becoming more difficult for multinational companies to sell Beijing as a perfect location when hiring. Howlett's wife and children moved back to New Zealand, their home country, four years ago as the air quality in Beijing was having a bad effect on his 11-year-old asthmatic son.

Matt Hope, a British artist had sought solution to air pollution with his "Breathing Bike," a pedal-powered air filtration system that provides clean air to the rider as it moves.

"Most of my friends came to stay for a while then leave, and some do leave China considering their families' health. For me, I still feel a lot of things are interesting in China for my art practicing," he told the Global Times.

"I think Beijing struggled to attract people before the pollution became a news item.

With its harsh climate and drab concrete skyline it doesn't make a good backdrop for postcards, however what's left of old Beijing still has a fan base," Hope said.

Positive steps

The Beijing government has vowed to make greater efforts to tackle air pollution, including a "clean air pact" that aims to reduce major pollutants concentration by an average of 2 percent by the end of this year.

Experts have also called for more international cooperation on pollution control, both at the official level and via communications among environmental organizations.

Jack Marzulli, a research fellow with New York City-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) China, told the Global Times that he'll be returning to the US at the end of his one-year post with the organization's Sustainable Cities Team.

"The pollution is definitely one of the reasons that I'm not seriously considering staying in Beijing longer term," said Marzulli. "Ironically, it's also one of the reasons I moved here in the first place."

Having visited Beijing in the past, Marzulli said he wanted to be part of the effort in fighting Beijing's pollution and specifically applied for a post at the NRDC's Beijing office.

"The air pollution constantly reminds me how important our work is," he said.

There is still a lot of work to be done to improve the air quality in Beijing and the rest of China, but environmental organizations are making a lot of progress, he said, while public awareness of air pollution and other environmental issues is increasing significantly.

China has been sparing no efforts in improving air quality and curbing pollution and Japan is glad to offer its assistance to the government, companies and NGOs, said Okazaki Yuta, First Secretary of the Economic Section (Environment) at the Embassy of Japan in China.

"I'd like to extend my heartfelt sympathy to residents who suffered from heavy smog earlier this year. As the father of two children, I'm heartbroken when seeing Chinese kids getting sick because of the air pollution," said Okazaki.

He lives in Beijing with his wife and two sons, and the family has come to depend on its air purifier.

"Japan also experienced serious air pollution before, and I don't want to see more harm caused by pollution anywhere in this world," he said.

"I'd like to continue working in Beijing, hoping that our experiences, lessons and technologies can help China find a solution."

Nearly 85 percent of Taiwan's middle and senior-level managers are considering changing jobs within the next 12 months, citing displeasure with their current salaries and company culture, according to a report released by specialist Asia recruitment firm MRIC yesterday.

The 2013 MRIC Talent Report surveyed 5,387 mid- to senior-level managers across a wide range of and locations, asking 3,820 in mainland China, 279 in Hong Kong, 460 in Singapore, and 379 in Taiwan. Eighty-ninety percent of those surveyed currently work in a foreign company.

“A much higher proportion of Taiwanese say that are dissatisfied (61.7 percent) compared to last year (51.6 percent) and to other (areas) surveyed,” said Patty Yang, General Manager for MRIC Taiwan.

Among those wanting to move to a new company, “increased compensation/commission” was cited as the chief motivation by the most people (42 percent), followed by “opportunity to increase responsibility/challenges” (32.1 percent), “clearer career path” and “company's leadership/strategic direction” (both 23.5 percent).

Among those willing to stay in their current jobs, “better work/life balance” was cited as the chief motivation by the most of those surveyed (42.3 percent), followed by “company's leadership/strategic direction” (32.7 percent) and “opportunity to increase responsibility/challenges” (26.9 percent).

Of professionals in Taiwan, one quarter placed importance on the culture of the company they are employed with, the highest proportion of all locations surveyed. Among all the dimensions of corporate culture dimension surveyed, “admired leadership” and “belief in fairness and promotion on merit” received the lowest ratings.

Social welfare issues have transfixed Taiwan's population recently. Its relevance is also shown in the 2013 MRIC Talent Report. Benefits hold particular prominence in Taiwan compared with Hong Kong or Singapore. Retirement benefits especially were found to be a key concern in Taiwan for 62.3 percent of the professionals surveyed, followed by health care (54.4 percent) and paid time off (47.4 percent).

While Taiwanese professionals have strong capabilities, they lack proficient English and communication skills compared with counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore, said Yang, and the quality of “humbleness” demonstrated by Taiwanese professionals — although deemed a positive character in Chinese culture — is often not a valued trait in the competitive job market.

Taiwanese professionals' pay is “far too reasonable,” Yang said, adding that “they just need to polish their English skills and improve their ability to better express themselves.”

For those with five to 10 years of experience in management-level positions, Taiwanese managers are usually paid 20-30 percent lower less than their counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore, according to Yang.

Taiwanese workers are usually willing to move overseas for a 5-10 percent increase in compensation, she continued. Offices in Hong Kong and Singapore are considered “regional headquarters,” and managers there are often charged with more responsibilities, which contribute to their higher compensation.

The number of foundations set up in China reached 2,961 in the third quarter of 2012, about three times that of 2005, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced Tuesday.

The number of foundations in China has continued to increase steadily in recent years, with the number of private foundations overtaking public ones for the first time in 2011, according to a report released by the ministry's non-governmental organization administration.

The total assets of foundations across the country reached 78.5 billion yuan ($12.58 billion) in 2011, up 29.91 percent year on year, figures from the report show.

Foundations received donations worth 40.1 billion yuan and spent 28.9 billion yuan on public welfare projects in 2011, according to the report.

The administration also found an "obvious imbalance" in the layout of foundations in different regions throughout the country.

In 2011, the number of foundations in provincial-level regions, including Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Beijing and Hunan, accounted for about half of the nationwide total, according to the report.

Surging numbers of private foundations

In recent years, private foundations have expanded more quickly than their public counterparts, surpassing public ones in number for the first time in 2011, according to the report.

By 2011, the country had 1,296 private foundations, accounting for 53.75 percent of the total, figures from the report show.

Of the 351 foundations registered in 2011, 264, or 75.21 percent, are private.

In China, foundations are divided into two types: public foundations, which can raise funds from the public; and private foundations, which may not take public donations but rely entirely on funding from individuals or organizations.

The administration said in the report that as the number and scale of private charity foundations increase, they are gradually evolving into an important force for solving social problems, resolving social conflicts and promoting social development.

Private foundations are not only growing in terms of numbers, but they are also maturing in terms of project management, according to the report.