Zhaopin and Renmin University Jointly Publish Fourth Quarter 2015 China Employment Index Report

BEIJING, Feb. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin Limited (NYSE: ZPIN) ("Zhaopin" or the "Company"), a leading career platform in China focused on connecting users with relevant job opportunities through their career lifecycle, and the China Institute for Employment Research at Renmin University today released  the CIER Employment Index Report for the fourth quarter of 2015 (October 1 through December 31, 2015). The CIER Index Report reviews and identifies trends in China's employment market.

A CIER index score of more than 1 indicates that confidence is high for job seekers seeking employment. A CIER index score of less than 1 indicates that confidence for job seekers seeking employment is low.

The CIER index score for a period is calculated with data from zhaopin.com by dividing the number of job vacancies during a specified period by the number of unique job seekers that apply to jobs during the same period. Data in the calculation is derived from Zhaopin's online platform.

1.  Adjusted CIER index indicates weaker employment confidence during the fourth quarter of 2015

The CIER index increased slightly during the fourth quarter of 2015 to 2.09 from 1.96 during the third quarter of 2015, as demand in the labor market in China slightly exceeded supply.

Excluding seasonality and changing demographics which have traditionally resulted in a long-term increase in CIER index scores, quarterly adjusted CIER index scores continued to decrease in 2015, indicating continuous weaker employment confidence in the market.

2.  Strongest employment confidence still seen in China's emerging service sector, while weak employment confidence seen in traditional manufacturing and services.

The ten best and worst performing sectors during the fourth quarter of 2015 remained largely unchanged on a sequential basis. The CIER index for the ten best performing sectors were all above 2.5, demonstrating strong confidence in finding employment. The CIER index for the ten worst performing sectors were all lower than 1.0, demonstrating an excess of job seekers in these sectors.

The majority of the ten best performing sectors were in the emerging services sector and included jobs in e-commerce, finance and educational services. With the rapid development of big data technology and implementation of China's 'Internet Plus' strategy, demand for high-tech talent has increased. The ten worst performing sectors related to traditional manufacturing and services, and included jobs in accounting/auditing, aerospace research and manufacturing.

3.  Recruitment demand from the financial¹ sectors continued to increase, while demand from some sub-sectors in IT and Internet² sector decreased

Total recruitment demand from the financial sector continued to increase during the fourth quarter of 2015, up 28% year-over-year. Recruitment demand from the funds/securities/futures/investment sector increased 28% year-over-year, while recruitment demand from trust/warrant/auction/pawn and banking increased 18% and 17%, respectively.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2015, total recruitment demand from the financial sector increased 42% year-over-year. Within the financial sector, banking and funds/securities/futures/investment sectors were the most attractive sectors for job seekers. Many wealth management companies have been established throughout the year to meet the increasingly popular demand from China's public for wealth management products. With thousands of firms listed on China's NEEQ (National Equities Exchange and Quotations), securities firms and funds have been eager to expand their teams accordingly, resulting in more demand from the financial sector. Demand from first-tier and second-tier cities increased 53% and 42% year-over-year, respectively, indicating demand in financial sector from top tier cities remained solid despite the economic slowdown.

Total recruitment demand from the IT/Internet sector during the fourth quarter of 2015 increased 32% year-over-year. A number of sub-sectors in the IT/Internet sector decreased however.  In particular, demand from computer hardware manufacturers fell 9% year-over-year. Alibaba cut down on its campus recruitment quota and Baidu announced hiring freeze for people with work experience. In addition, some mid-sized Internet firms such as Ctrip and Qunar, and Meituan and Dianping; have sought merger opportunities. As the Internet boom in China cools, employers are becoming increaslying prudent when recruiting new talents.

Total recruitment demand from the IT/Internet sector in 2015 increased 38%, a decrease from the 46% year-over-year growth it experienced in 2014, but in-line with current economic trends.

4. Recruitment demand from the traffic/transportation and trade/import & export sectors increased steadily, while recruitment demand from the real estate sector dropped

Thanks in part to solid infrastructure development in the fourth quarter of 2015, recruitment demand from the traffic/transportation sector increased 28% year-over-year. Demand from second, third and fourth-tier cities increased 41%, 86% and 136% year-over-year respectively. On October 13, 2015, China's National Development and Reform Commission announced RMB274.5 billion in spending on new railway construction projects which are expected to increase the demand for labor.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Chinese government implemented a number of policies designed to support import & export trading. As a result, recruitment demand from the trade/import & export sector during the fourth quarter of 2015 increased 17% year-over-year.

Demand from the fast-moving consumer goods, automobile/motorcycle and durable consumer goods sectors during the fourth quarter of 2015 saw a year-over-year decrease. Demand from the real estate sector continued to fall, decreasing 20% year-over-year during the fourth quarter of 2015. When compared to 2014, demand from the real estate sector decreased 11% during full year 2015.

5.  Employment situation better in Eastern China

The CIER index score for Eastern, Central and Western China during the fourth quarter of 2015 were 2.08, 1.77 and 1.45, respectively, demonstrating that employment confidence in Eastern China remains strong while employment confidence in Western China is weakening.

Recruitment demand in Central China increased 14% year-over-year during the fourth quarter of 2015, outperforming Eastern and Western China. In 2015, the pace of GDP growth from financial and tax revenues in Central China exceeded both Eastern and Western China.

6.  Recruitment demand in third-tier and below cities increased

During the fourth quarter of 2015, recruitment demand in third-tier and below cities increased more than 27% year-over-year.

Year-over-year growth in recruitment demand for full year 2015 in first, almost first and second tier cities decreased, but continues to offer more job opportunities than other cities in China.

7.  Stronger employment confidence seen in micro-and-small enterprises

The CIER index for companies of various sizes during the fourth quarter of 2015 were (from highest to lowest):

Thanks to government policies designed to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, micro-and-small sized companies have greater growth potential and therefore greater demand for labor. During the fourth quarter of 2015, recruitment demand from micro-sized companies increased 49% year-over-year, while small-sized companies increased 11% year-over-year.

For full year 2015, recruitment demand from small-sized companies increased 16% from 2014. While recruitment demand from micro-sized companies didn't match last year's 52% year-over-year growth, it still maintained a strong growth. As more favorable government policies are implemented to support micro-and-small sized companies, recruitment demand is expected to once again grow rapidly in the future.

8.  Recruitment demand from joint ventures grew faster while recruitment demand from SOEs and wholly foreign-owned enterprises decreased

The CIER index for various types of companies during the fourth quarter of 2015 were (from highest to lowest):

The CIER index score for private companies was highest during the fourth quarter of 2015, while publically listed companies saw the lowest CIER index score.

During the fourth quarter of 2015, recruitment demand from public institutions increased 89% year-over-year as a result of ongoing reforms which created demand for more talent. Recruitment demand from joint ventures and joint-stock companies increased 23% and 21%, respectively, while recruitment demand from SOEs and wholly foreign-owned enterprises decreased 4% and 10%, respectively. Given rising labor costs in China, some foreign-owned enterprises are considering to pull out of China. Facing pressure from reforms, a slowing economy and the ongoing anticorruption campaign, SOEs have become increasingly prudent when making recruitment decisions.

During 2015, year-over-year growth in recruitment demand from public institutions, publically listed companies and joint-stock companies ranked among the top 3 of all type of organizations. As of December 31, 2015, there were 5,129 companies listed on NEEQ, an increase of 226.27% when compared with 1,572 companies as of December 31, 2014. These NEEQ-listed companies are increasing their efforts to attract talents.

9.  Market outlook

Quarterly CIER index scores are expected to decrease in 2016. Quarterly CIER index scores adjusted for seasonality and other factors related to the population structure are expected to trend upwards in 2016, except the adjusted CIER index scores for the second quarter of 2016 which are expected to slightly decrease from the first quarter of 2016.

About Zhaopin Limited

Zhaopin is a leading career platform in China, focusing on connecting users with relevant job opportunities throughout their career lifecycle. The Company's zhaopin.com website is the most popular career platform in China as measured by average daily unique visitors in each of the 12 months ended September 30, 2015, number of registered users as of September 30, 2015 and number of unique customers for the three months ended September 30, 2015. The Company's over 104.8 million registered users include diverse and educated job seekers who are at various stages of their careers and are in demand by employers as a result of the general shortage of skilled and educated workers in China. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, approximately 25.6 million job postings³ were placed on Zhaopin's platform by 418,423 unique customers including multinational corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises and state-owned entities. The quality and quantity of Zhaopin's users and the resumes in the Company's database attract an increasing number of customers. This in turn leads to more users turning to Zhaopin as their primary recruitment and career- related services provider, creating strong network effects and significant entry barriers for potential competitors. For more information, please visit http://www.zhaopin.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Zhaopin may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Zhaopin's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: Zhaopin's goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to retain and grow its user and customer base for its online career platform; the growth of, and trends in, the markets for its services in China; the demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; competition in its industry in China; its ability to maintain the network infrastructure necessary to operate its website and mobile applications; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry; and its ability to protect its users' information and adequately address privacy concerns. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and Zhaopin does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For more information, please contact:

Zhaopin Limited
Ms. Daisy Wang
Investor Relations Manager
ir@zhaopin.com.cn

Christensen
In China
Mr. Christian Arnell
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: carnell@christensenir.com

In U.S.
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@christensenir.com  

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SOURCE Zhaopin Limited