Award Banner
Award Banner

Overseas Returnees to China Have Bright Prospects for Employment and Entrepreneurship, Report by Zhaopin and CCG Finds

Overseas Returnees to China Have Bright Prospects for Employment and Entrepreneurship, Report by Zhaopin and CCG Finds

BEIJING, Aug. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin Limited ("Zhaopin" or the "Company"), a leading career platform in China focused on matching talent with skills and opportunities through their career lifecycle, and the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a leading Chinese independent think tank based in Beijing, jointly released the "Report on Employment & Entrepreneurship of Chinese Returnees 2018".

With the fast pace of economic growth in China, more and more overseas Chinese students are returning to China for career development or starting their own businesses. More than 480,900 overseas Chinese students returned to China in 2017, bringing the total number of returnees to over 3.13 million since 1978, according to statistics by the Ministry of Education.

Zhaopin and CCG have been conducting their annual survey to track the employment trends of overseas returnees since 2015. This year's report revealed the latest development in their employment and entrepreneurship endeavors, their choices and situations before and after studying abroad. The report is based on 2,190 effective survey responses from overseas returnees this year.

Highlights for employment and entrepreneurship of Chinese returnees 2018:

  • The top reasons for overseas Chinese to return to China: to reunite with family and friends (67%); China's booming economic growth (40%); and unfavorable overseas economic, political and social environments, such as work and immigration policies (27%).
  • About 61% of returnees went back to their hometowns in China. The rest relocated mainly to developed areas, including Beijing (13%), Shanghai (8%) and Guangdong Province (7%).
  • The pace of local economic growth was an important reference for overseas returnees in their relocation decisions. While Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong were attracting overseas returnees, the Northeast and Western China were losing overseas talent.
  • About 65% of overseas returnees believed that the "Talent War" waged by cities to attract talent showed that local governments gave more importance and attention to talent, and 52% said more policy supports were needed for overseas returnees.
  • Over 72% of overseas returnees were currently employed, 5% were starting their own businesses and 16% were still looking for jobs.
  • About 42% of overseas returnees could find jobs within one month after they came back to China, and 41% could find employment in one to three months.
  • In terms of salary, about 33% of overseas returnees had a pre-tax monthly salary below RMB6,000, 25% had a monthly salary of RMB6,001 to 8,000, and 15% earned RMB8,001 to 10,000 per month.
  • About 80% of overseas returnees were not satisfied with their salaries. Among them, 49% said their salaries were below expectations, and 31% said their salaries were far below expectations.

Studying overseas

More Chinese students chose to study overseas over the past decade. The top reasons were: to learn the culture and life of other countries and enrich personal experience (76%); to improve independent living ability (52%); and higher education quality abroad (51%).

Reasons for studying overseas

Reason

Male

Female

Overall

Learn the culture and life of other countries and enrich personal experience

69%

81%

76%

Improve independent living ability

53%

51%

52%

Higher education quality abroad

53%

50%

51%

More competitive after returning to China

31%

35%

33%

Fierce competition of domestic education resources

20%

13%

17%

Plan to develop overseas

8%

6%

7%

Other

1%

2%

2%

UK, US, Australia, Japan and South Korea were the top five destinations that attracted the most Chinese students.

Destinations for overseas study

Country/region

Male

Female

Overall

UK

15.35%

22.46%

19.14%

US

21.23%

15.18%

18.01%

Australia

11.33%

9.16%

10.17%

Japan

10.19%

9.91%

10.04%

South Korea

8.90%

8.78%

8.84%

Canada

5.16%

4.02%

4.55%

France

3.30%

5.52%

4.48%

Germany

3.44%

2.38%

2.88%

Russia

3.01%

2.38%

2.68%

New Zealand

1.58%

2.51%

2.07%

Hong Kong

1.29%

1.88%

1.61%

Netherlands

0.57%

0.75%

0.67%

Macao

0.57%

0.38%

0.47%

Sweden

0.43%

0.38%

0.40%

Taiwan

0.29%

0.38%

0.33%

Others

13.34%

13.93%

13.65%

Regarding majors chosen by Chinese students, 43% studied economics and business, 14% selected arts and humanities, and 10% engineering.

Top ten majors selected by Chinese students

Major

Male

Female

Overall

Economics and business

44.05%

42.66%

43.31%

Arts and humanities

7.46%

19.70%

13.99%

Engineering

15.21%

4.64%

9.57%

Computer science

9.76%

1.38%

5.29%

Management

3.01%

6.78%

5.02%

Social Sciences and public health

3.16%

5.14%

4.22%

linguistics

2.30%

4.77%

3.61%

Environment / ecology

2.58%

1.13%

1.81%

Journalism and communication

0.57%

1.88%

1.27%

Chemistry

1.72%

0.88%

1.27%

As to the highest degree obtained overseas, about 56% of Chinese students got master's degrees and 38% got bachelor's degrees. An increasing number of students chose to study overseas for bachelor's degrees.

Degrees obtained overseas

Degree

Male

Female

Overall

High school

0.43%

0.00%

0.20%

Associate

1.58%

1.88%

1.74%

Bachelor

40.17%

35.63%

37.75%

Master

51.51%

59.10%

55.56%

Doctor

3.87%

1.25%

2.48%

Others

2.44%

2.13%

2.28%

Returning to China

The top reasons for overseas Chinese to return to China were: to reunite with family and friends (67%); China's booming economic growth (40%); and unfavorable overseas economic, political and social environments, such as work and immigration policies (27%).

Reasons for returning to China

Reason

Male

Female

Overall

Reunite with family and friends

58%

75%

67%

China's booming economic growth

47%

35%

40%

Unfavorable overseas economic, political and social environments (such as work and immigration policies)

24%

29%

27%

Attached to Chinese culture and food

19%

27%

23%

Studied major has a good development prospect in China

17%

12%

14%

Has solid foundation for development in China

12%

14%

13%

Willing to contribute to the country

17%

8%

12%

Attractive policy for recruiting talent

14%

9%

12%

Good environment for entrepreneurship

10%

8%

9%

Others

1%

1%

1%

About 61% of returnees went back to their hometowns in China. The rest relocated mainly to developed areas, including Beijing (13%), Shanghai (8%) and Guangdong Province (7%). The pace of local economic growth was an important reference for overseas returnees in their relocation decisions. While Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong were attracting overseas returnees, the Northeast and Western China were losing overseas talent.

Relocation destinations for returnees

Location

Overall

Hometown

60.78%

Beijing

13.32%

Shanghai

8.43%

Guangdong

6.96%

Zhejiang

1.47%

Jiangsu

1.47%

Sichuan

1.27%

Shaanxi

1.00%

In terms of overseas work experience, only 30% had no work experience. About 23% returned to China with 1 to 3 years of experience and more than 15% had over 3 years of experience.

Overseas work experience

Experience

Male

Female

Overall

No experience

28.98%

31.62%

30.39%

Less than half year

14.35%

14.30%

14.32%

Half to one year

18.22%

16.06%

17.07%

1 to 3 years

23.10%

22.96%

23.03%

3 to 6 years

10.47%

10.54%

10.51%

Over 6 years

4.88%

4.52%

4.69%

Most Chinese returnees had no overseas entrepreneurship experience. Only 4% had successful entrepreneurship experience.

Overseas entrepreneurship experience

Experience

Male

Female

Overall

No experience

79.05%

89.08%

84.40%

Failed experience

14.92%

8.53%

11.51%

Successful experience

6.03%

2.38%

4.08%

In recent years, a "Talent War" was waged in some cities to help attract talent with favorable policies. About 65% of overseas returnees believed that the "Talent War" showed that local governments gave more importance and attention on talent, and 52% said more policy supports were needed for overseas returnees.

Opinions on Tatent War among cities

Opinion

Male

Female

Overall

Such policies to attract talent show the increasing importance and attention giving to talent

64%

66%

65%

More policy supports needed for overseas returnees

52%

51%

52%

Such policies have impact on city choice for employment and entrepreneurship

34%

36%

35%

Need longer time to see the effectiveness of such policies

32%

31%

31%

Others

2%

2%

2%

Regarding which incentive policies were needed to attract overseas returnees, top choices included: raising salaries and benefits (65%), improving employment mechanisms for returnees (57%), and providing household registration and housing (36%).

Suggested policies to attract overseas returnees

Policy

Male

Female

Overall

Raise salaries and benefits

66%

64%

65%

Improve employment mechanism

53%

60%

57%

Provide household registration and housing

37%

35%

36%

Provide entrepreneurship mentoring

25%

28%

27%

Establish platform for communications

18%

19%

18%

Provide career development advice

12%

15%

14%

Promote the government's incentive policies

10%

13%

12%

Increase R&D investment

11%

10%

11%

Reward returnees who make great contributions

11%

10%

11%

Strengthen IPR protection

9%

7%

8%

Create sound environment governing by law

6%

8%

7%

Provide social inclusion support

6%

4%

5%

Improve system for technology conversion

6%

3%

4%

Others

1%

0%

0%

Employment for returnees

According to the survey, about 72% of overseas returnees were currently employed, 5% were starting their own businesses and 16% were looking for jobs.

Employment status of overseas returnees

Status

Male

Female

Overall

Employed

71.77%

72.60%

72.16%

Seeking jobs

18.57%

13.92%

16.40%

Starting own business

3.51%

6.17%

4.75%

Others

6.15%

7.31%

6.69%

When seeking employment in China, overseas returnees believes they had advantages in: language and cross-culture communications; global perspective; more adaptable and independent; and critical thinking capability.

Advantages in seeking employment

Advantage

Male

Female

Overall

Language and cross-culture communications

71%

74%

73%

Global perspective

60%

58%

59%

More adaptable and independent

33%

40%

37%

Critical thinking capability

25%

25%

25%

Understand overseas market and can help build up brand and sales channels overseas

15%

17%

16%

More innovative

17%

14%

16%

Strong social interaction skills

13%

13%

13%

International cooperation

12%

11%

12%

Professional advantage

11%

11%

11%

Help to improve working ability

5%

8%

6%

Contribute to job promotion

4%

3%

3%

Easy to learn overseas technology

3%

3%

3%

Easy to hire overseas R&D talent and partner

2%

2%

2%

Easy to get overseas VC

1%

0%

0%

When looking for jobs, 49% of returnees applied through recruitment websites and APPs, 22% sent resumes directly to their target companies, and 19% relied on recommendations from their families and friends.

Job-seeking channels

Channel

Male

Female

Overall

Recruitment websites and APPs

44.27%

53.15%

48.98%

Applying directly to target companies

26.68%

17.66%

21.89%

Recommendations by families and friends

17.59%

20.28%

19.02%

Headhunters and HR intermediaries

4.35%

3.50%

3.90%

Offline job  fairs

2.57%

1.05%

1.76%

Social media postings

1.38%

1.57%

1.48%

Overseas recruitment activities by government and companies

1.19%

1.57%

1.39%

Others

1.19%

0.87%

1.02%

Civil service examination and other government channels

0.79%

0.35%

0.56%

About 42% of overseas returnees could find jobs within one month after they came back to China, and 41% could find employment in one to three months.

Time needed to find employment

Time

Male

Female

Overall

Within 1 month

42.69%

40.91%

41.74%

1 to 3 months

40.12%

41.61%

40.91%

4 to 6 months

12.45%

12.76%

12.62%

7 to 12 months

2.17%

3.32%

2.78%

Over 1 years

2.57%

1.40%

1.95%

Top industries that hired overseas returnees included finance, communications, software and IT services, manufacturing, education, and wholesale and retail.

Top ten industries for overseas returnees

Industry

Male

Female

Overall

Finance

16.80%

11.71%

14.10%

Communications, software and IT services

12.65%

13.81%

13.27%

Manufacturing

14.82%

9.27%

11.87%

Education

6.92%

15.21%

11.32%

Wholesale and retail

7.31%

8.04%

7.70%

Culture, sports and entertainment

4.15%

10.31%

7.42%

Leasing and business services

5.53%

6.82%

6.22%

R&D and technology services

5.53%

3.85%

4.64%

Real estate

5.34%

3.67%

4.45%

Construction

4.94%

2.80%

3.80%

In terms of salary, about 33% of overseas returnees had a pre-tax monthly salary below RMB6,000, 25% had a monthly salary of RMB6,001 to 8,000, and 15% earned RMB8,001 to 10,000 per month.

Salaries for overseas returnees

Pre-tax salary (RMB)

Male

Female

Overall

Below 6,000

31.42%

34.62%

33.12%

6,001 to 8,000

23.12%

26.05%

24.68%

8,001 to 10,000

19.37%

11.36%

15.12%

10,001 to 15,000

14.43%

14.86%

14.66%

15,001 to 20,000

6.32%

6.64%

6.49%

20,001 to 30,000

3.56%

3.50%

3.53%

30,001 to 50,000

1.19%

1.57%

1.39%

Above 50,000

0.59%

1.40%

1.02%

About 80% of overseas returnees were not satisfied with their salaries. Among them, 49% said their salaries were below expectations, and 31% said their salaries were far below expectations.

Salary and expectation for overseas returnees

Comparison

Male

Female

Overall

Salary far below expectation

31.42%

31.29%

31.35%

Salary below expectation

49.60%

48.08%

48.79%

Salary matches expectation

18.18%

19.41%

18.83%

Salary above expectation

0.59%

1.05%

0.83%

Salary far above expectation

0.20%

0.17%

0.19%

Entrepreneurship for returnees

Among those returnees who started their own businesses, nearly half did so in 2017, compared with 18% in 2016 and 9% in 2015.

Time to start own business

Time

Percentage

Before 2015

25.35%

2015

8.45%

2016

18.31%

2017

47.89%

The top five industries that overseas returnees chose to start businesses were communications, software and IT services, wholesale and retail, education, manufacturing, and leasing and business services.

Top five industries to start own business

Industry

Percentage

Communications, software and IT services

16.90%

Wholesale and retail

15.49%

Education

11.27%

Manufacturing

8.45%

Leasing and business services

8.45%

For their entrepreneurship endeavors, the supports they needed were: market development (41%); favorable environment for entrepreneurship (35%); financial services (34%); and entrepreneurship mentoring (25%).

Supports needed for entrepreneurship

Support

Male

Female

Overall

Market development

33%

54%

41%

Favorable environment for entrepreneurship

37%

32%

35%

Financial services

37%

29%

34%

Entrepreneurship mentoring

21%

32%

25%

HR services

23%

14%

20%

Patent protection

19%

11%

15%

R&D

7%

25%

14%

Legal support

12%

11%

11%

Management consulting services

5%

14%

8%

Tax incentives

12%

4%

8%

Technology transfer

9%

4%

7%

Other supporting policies

5%

0%

3%

The challenges these entrepreneurs were facing included: high operation cost (56%); unfamiliarity with domestic market (38%); and difficulty raising capital (37%).

Challenges for entrepreneurship

Challenge

Male

Female

Overall

High operation cost

44%

75%

56%

Unfamiliarity with domestic market

35%

43%

38%

Difficulty raising capital

40%

32%

37%

Related entrepreneurial services not in place

28%

25%

27%

Government related policies not complete

21%

21%

21%

Difficult for technology conversion

14%

11%

13%

Not supported by domestic R&D

12%

4%

8%

Difficult for international expansion

7%

4%

6%

Others

2%

0%

1%

Overseas.zhaopin.com is Zhaopin's overseas talent recruitment business, helping bridge China's companies with overseas talent through online recruitment, campus activities and job fairs. Overseas.zhaopin.com has accumulated deep understanding of local company overseas recruiting demand, and helps overseas returnees identify suitable career development path. It is also a member of The Network, the world's largest online recruitment alliance, which covers 138 countries with 59 HR service providers and over 356 million resumes.

For more information, please contact:

Zhaopin Limited
Ms. Serena Sun
roujia.sun@zhaopin.com.cn

ICR Beijing
Mr. Edmond Lococo
Phone: +86 10 6583-7510
Edmond.Lococo@icrinc.com

Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/overseas-returnees-to-china-have-bright-prospects-for-employment-and-entrepreneurship-report-by-zhaopin-and-ccg-finds-300699890.html

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.