Demand in new retail industry talent surges

Rapid growth of new retail industry has driven a 20-fold increase in talent demand in the past three years and the trend did not lose momentum after the pandemic break, a new industry report said.

Conducted by zhaopin.com and Intime Department Store, the study found that the current demand for talent is 20.9 times that in the first quarter of 2017.

Meanwhile, the fast growth of the industry has attracted more talent. From January to March, the talent supply index of the new retail sector reached 15.8, up 15.8 times compared with three years ago.

Due to the pandemic disruptions, the overall number of job vacancies in the entire recruitment industry fell by 23.7 percent year on year, while that for the new retail industry surged by 17.8 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the study.

The growth rate of part-time jobs in the new retail industry reached 48.1 percent in the first quarter, outpacing that for full-time jobs (16.7 percent), thanks to the pandemic-catalyzed "shared employee" model.

By providing temporary jobs, shared employment can quickly revitalize the human resources that are temporarily out of work and have mature business experience, reduce the impact of the pandemic on enterprises and talent, and improve the efficiency of human resources allocation.

In the first quarter, the average salary for the new retail industry was 11,488 yuan (US$1614) a month, 1.3 times the national average.

The demand for talent in all-media operations, supply chain management and other positions is growing, with technical and management positions highly paid and highly competitive, the report noted.