Slim hopes for growth in business hurt hiring

Lower expectations for business expansion have crimped employers' hiring intentions in China in the fourth quarter, recruitment portal 51job.com said in a survey yesterday.

Although the percentage of employers who said they will recruit more staff in the fourth quarter than they did in the same period of last year was almost flat at 80.3 percent, the reading was 8.2 percentage points lower than the third quarter, according to the survey of 15,464 employers done between July and September.

The survey found 38.8 percent of respondents planned to expand head count due to business growth, down from 47 percent in the third quarter.

The Internet, software and fast-moving consumer goods sectors were the most active recruiters while new jobs in finance and education fell from last year.

Nearly two thirds of respondents said they raised pay by more than 5 percent from last year, and 0.6 percent said they cut salaries.