Recruiting in China

China created 12.7 million new jobs in urban areas in 2012, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said on Friday.

The increase from 2011's 12.2 million new urban jobs left China's urban jobless rate steady at 4.1 percent at the end of 2012 - the 10th straight quarter officials say it has been at that level.

The urban jobless rate is China's only official unemployment indicator, but analysts say it grossly underestimates the true level of unemployment because it excludes about 250 million migrant workers from its surveys.

The National Bureau of Statistics said last week that China had created 11.9 million jobs in 2012 in urban areas. The differing numbers highlight the discrepancies in China's employment data which feed analysts' doubts.

Economists at Nomura in Hong Kong said other data signalled that China's labour market had tightened in the fourth quarter of 2012, with an index of the ratio of urban labour demand to supply rising to 1.08 from 1.05 in Q3 - its highest since the index was first published in 2002.

A group of about 20 migrant workers from Dalian in China's northeastern Liaoning province were demonstrating outside the labour ministry on Friday as the jobless data was presented at a news conference, demanding the ministry help them collect unpaid wages after completing work on a construction project.

China's migrant workers are the backbone of the country's labour force, working mainly in low paid jobs on construction sites and in factories.

Beijing has mandated that minimum wages rise at least 13 percent a year during the course of the current five-year plan that runs to 2015.

The same plan mandates annual increases in urban and rural household incomes of more than 7 percent, which would result in them doubling over 10 years.

The labour ministry said on Friday that 25 of China's 32 provinces raised minimum wages at an average of 20.2 percent in 2012.

In 2011, 24 provinces increased minimum wages by an average of 22 percent. In 2010, 30 provinces delivered increases of an average of 22.8 percent.

The most recent data available shows minimum wages in 2011 ranged from 1,500 yuan (152.79 pounds) per month in Shenzhen, the highest, to 870 yuan in Chongqing, the lowest.

The disparity of incomes has become a politically sensitive issue in China over the last decade as the gap between rich and poor has widened into a chasm.

About 13 percent of China's 1.3 billion people still live on less than $1.25 (79 pence) per day according to the United Nations Development Programme and average urban disposable income is just 21,810 yuan a year.

Meanwhile China has 2.7 million U.S. dollar millionaires and 251 billionaires, according to the Hurun Report.

As the Spring Festival is coming to an end, graduate students may find it harder to get a desirable job than usual, as a recent survey shows that only 29 percent of students with master's degrees have secured jobs, down from last year.

A survey conducted from December last year to January 2013 by My China Occupational Skills (MyCOS), a higher education consulting and outcome evaluation facility in China, found that only 29 percent of the graduate students surveyed have found jobs, seven percentage points lower than last year, Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

The survey collected 10,940 valid questionnaires, of which 3,802 were from graduate students, 3,699 from undergraduates and 3,439 from graduates of vocational training schools.

According to the survey, 35 percent of postgraduates with an employment history have signed for a job, while 47 percent of fourth-year undergraduates with internship experience have signed, compared to the overall rate of 38 percent.

Another survey by MyCOS found that as of November 14, 2012, employment pressure on postgraduates has increased by three percentage points compared with the same period last year, while pressure for undergraduates has dropped by six percentage points.

"I've spent three years and tens of thousands of yuan getting a master's degree, but ended up with so much difficulty in finding a job... It feels like my graduate school years were a total waste," a graduate student, who wished to be called Li Yan, at the Central China Normal University was quoted by the Outlook Weekly as saying.

Chinese young people are seriously considering making a living online as the economic slowdown bites China's more conventional jobs market.

An Internet business boom has helped create more than 10 million jobs in China, which greatly alleviates current employment pressure, according to a new report by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS).

The report, the first of its kind by the ministry, showed that young people made up the majority of those involved in Internet entrepreneurship, including online shop owners and employees, as well as practitioners in areas closely related to e-commerce.

"The Internet goes beyond physical restrictions, so our power can be magnified to an enormous scale," Li Xueling, founder and CEO of Chinese social platform company YY Inc. was quoted as saying by Tuesday's edition of the People's Daily.

Li, whose company made its NASDAQ debut in November 2012, said the Internet quickens the process of trial and error in entrepreneurship, citing the example of a college graduate who was made a millionaire by teaching others how to make PowerPoint files online.

Internet business also allows more freedom and diversity in employment choices, according to the MHRSS report.

In 2012, a record 6.8 million people graduated from universities in China. Yet a large number of graduates were unable to land a job due to a discrepancy between the workforce and the actual needs of the economy.

Some of the jobless new grads may have flowed to the more flexible online commerce.

The MHRSS report showed that almost half of Internet practitioners surveyed own an associate degree or bachelor's degree, and another 33.4 percent received education from middle schools or technical schools. People with strong backgrounds in marketing, management, technology and law are most needed, it said.

Many young entrepreneurs said online business helps lower costs and increase efficiency, and also offers opportunities to make friends and find fun.

Moreover, the flourishing of Internet economics makes consumers more confident and comfortable with buying online, especially amid a current crisis of confidence in the country's commercial activities, the report said.

Taobao.com, a leading Chinese online shopping platform, sees an average of 18 million transactions each day, representing millions of deals closed on mutual trust and the guarantee of contracts, according to the People's Daily.

To further boost employment through online business, more measures, including credit support and tax exemptions should be rolled out to help small start-ups stay sound financially, the MHRSS suggested in the report.

Authorities should also guide private funds to invest in Internet businesses with potential for growth, the ministry added.

"The Internet makes improbable things possible. That is the most inspiring thing of our time," Li said.

Comrise, a global consulting firm with headquarters in the U.S and China, is pleased to announce the expansion of its Data Science Campus Recruiting Program into China.

After the overwhelming success that Comrise, a global consulting firm with headquarters in the U.S and China, had during its nationwide Campus Recruiting Program, it is pleased to announce its expansion of the program into China.

"Our main focus right now is providing Data Scientists, Data Engineers, and strong Analytics Professionals to organizations in both the U.S. and China," says Rob Bigini , VP of Operations at Comrise. "Our Campus Recruiting Program – combined with strong ties to Universities across the globe, and 30 years of experience in Staff Supplementation, Permanent Placement and Project Based Solutions – allows us to do just that."

Over the past few months Comrise traveled to nearly a dozen prominent U.S. universities to recruit analytical talent for its "Big Data" training courses in ECL (Enterprise Control Language) – a query and control language, and HPCC (High Performance Computing Cluster) Systems – a data-intensive supercomputing platform, as well as for its clients and in-house Data Science Graduate Programme.

With nine offices between China and Hong Kong, Comrise is perfectly positioned to expand these offerings to graduate students overseas. Among the universities already visited by Comrise are Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, as well as Sichuan University and Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu.

Comrise's Chengdu office is in the process of expanding and moving into a new, 1,200 square meter office space, so it will serve as headquarters for the Data Science Graduate Programme in China. Students accepted into this program will participate in a "Big Data" training course before working on Big Data Proof of Concepts for client companies.

Organizations interested in hiring "Big Data" talent (i.e., Data Scientists, Data Engineers, Data Analysts, etc.), please e-mail marketing@comrise.com.

About Comrise:
Established in 1984, Comrise is a global consulting firm with headquarters in the U.S. and China. Our teams specialize in Managed IT, Big Data, and Workforce Solutions – Staff Augmentation, Recruiting, RPO, and Payrolling.

With the smell of fireworks hanging in the air, we are rushing headlong into the Lunar New Year holiday. Common sense tells us to put our feet up and spend time with the family, and begin the job search again with a new sense of urgency after the holiday. After all, hiring managers are winding down, human resource professionals are busy with annual pay reviews, promotions and the endless year-end reports.

However, a lot of evidence would suggest that this is currently the best time to be searching for a new job. Firstly, your competition (i.e. other job hunters) is probably thinking “I’ll wait”; this makes it the best time for you to step up your job search. Research shows that calling off your job search is very counter-productive; instead of waiting, now is the time to redouble your effort to find that ideal new job, and gain an advantage over your relaxed competitors.

The other factor is, recruitment budgets are still there and HR people are still coming to work every day, looking for candidates. There is a great deal of pressure on managers to have people in place before the Golden period begins.

“During this time of year, I get so many calls from managers telling me how urgent their vacancies are and how few CVs they are receiving. They push me very hard. Candidates who make themselves available for interview, who answer their phones, who return emails the same day have a huge advantage at this time of year,” a Shanghai-based colleague told me.

So what are some of the proactive things that you can do? For one thing, make sure that your online presence is up to date. Touch base with any recruiters and HR people who have connected with you through LinkedIn during the past year. Make sure your profile clearly details your experience and strengths. It’s a great time to get in touch with any companies you interviewed within the past year. Send an e-card wishing them a happy holiday and remind them that you are available; they might have a new opening in their organisation that you are unaware of. Thirdly attend as many of those holiday parties as you can. Every business chamber and networking organisation holds one at this time of year; get out there and press the flesh.

And whilst we are on the topic, let’s remind ourselves of the few key points when planning a career change:

* Be very clear about what you bring to the table. Start by writing down your key skills and accomplishments, and then build the case for hiring you around those.
* Make sure that you are applying for the right jobs. It is too easy to fire your CV off to a hundred online postings that mention one key word you are interested in, but this is a waste of your time. Be realistic, and only target organisations that you want to work for.
* Use your network to better target your ideal jobs. Use Linkedin to see how many of your connections work in the company you are applying to.

Once you have got the interview, it is really important to be able to convince people that you have what it takes to succeed. Employers are looking for good cultural fits; you have to show that you understand that. Be clear about your salary and your expectations. Any sign of an ‘errrr’ or an ‘ummm’ before answering raises doubts in the interviewers mind. Demonstrate your worth by providing clear examples of where and when you have exceeded expectations in a similar role.

Follow the steps above and you’ll beat the competition to your new job, even in the so-called slowest period of the year.

Hewlett-Packard has issued new guidelines to its Chinese suppliers aimed at reducing the long hours worked by temporary student workers and ensuring that their recruitment process complies with local regulations.

The exploitation of students has been rife across the electronics supplier industry in China, as companies resort to hiring large numbers of temporary workers when orders for electronic gadgets spike, because of a product launch or seasonal demand.

HP’s supplier guidelines, issued on Friday, stipulated that all work must be voluntary, and local regulations regarding minimum working age and work environments must be adhered to. In addition, HP said it would ask suppliers to ensure that students would be asked to work only if working at the supplier “complemented the primary area of study” of the student.

Investigations into temporary work by labour activists in China have revealed a pattern of municipal governments requiring students to work at factories in the local area, as well as students frequently working long hours at companies that had little relevance to their studies.

HP said it had developed the guidelines in tandem with China’s Center for Child Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility. The group’s executive director, Sanna Johnson, said the guidelines were a “clear recognition” of the company’s commitment to its workforce.

Geoff Crothall, communications director at China Labour Bulletin, a lobby group in Hong Kong, was sceptical that the guidelines and proposed audits by the company, which has more than 1,000 production suppliers spanning 45 countries and territories, would be effective.

“How are they going to follow through,” said Mr Crothall. “It’s not up to them how a supplier factory recruits, it is up to the factory.” Mr Crothall said that it was the demands by the electronics industry for flexibility and lean inventories that “created the problem [of a temporary student workforce] in the first place”.

Mr Crothall said that revision to China’s laws with regard to labour contracts made late last year, which were intended to crackdown on the widespread use of temporary contract labour, meant that all companies would have to be more vigilant on this issue. As many as 60m workers in China were employed by labour agencies across the country, he said. Numbers of temporary workers surged after China put in place new labour laws in 2008.

Mr Crothall said that the only way to ensure compliance was not by sending in auditors and periodically collecting information, but by allowing independent unions in factories and ensuring there was collective bargaining. “You can’t send in auditors a few times a year. Workers get bonuses for giving the right answers and penalised for giving the wrong ones,” he said.

Foxconn, which is under pressure from Apple to improve its workplace conditions, said on Monday that it would allow genuinely representative union elections for its 1.2m workers in China from next year.