A college student checks the employment information at a human resource fair market in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, May 10, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Talented recruits were in high demand on the Chinese mainland in the first quarter, especially in the State-owned enterprises sector, according to an employment survey.

Only 8.2 percent of 589 corporations that took part in the survey said they had not increased their head count.

The RMG Recruitment Insider Survey is a nationwide quarterly review of hiring carried out by RMG Selection, a China-focused international recruitment and human resources consultancy.

A total of 99.1 percent of State-owned enterprises hired new talent in the first three months of this year. Joint ventures had the lowest hiring rate, but 81.8 percent of them had new vacancies.

Sophie Li, marketing and operations director at RMG Selection, said, "Job-market activity can be measured by two factors - the job-hopping rate and the recruitment rate.

"We can see from the first-quarter survey that 91.8 percent of companies introduced new talent, and this demand continues.

"Part of this activity can be attributed to the boom in starting innovative businesses," Li said. "Encouraged by policies and the market, many company executives have started their own businesses, providing more opportunities for job seekers."

Despite SOEs being affected by the nationwide campaign against corruption, strong recruitment demand remains.

The survey also found there was high demand for talent in first-, second- and third-tier cities, with 91.5, 92.4 and 91.9 percent of companies hiring.

Moreover, 14.6 percent of employers in first-tier cities would like to offer 20,000 yuan ($3,220) to 30,000 yuan a month for new employees, compared to 3.8 percent of those in second-tier cities, according to the report.

Zhu Hongyan, chief careers consultant at the human resources website Zhaopin, said it used to be difficult, for example, for graduates at Tsinghua University to find jobs in third-tier cities that would use their potential. "Now the case is totally different."

But Zhu said there have been cases of talented professionals moving to smaller cities and then returning to Beijing or Shanghai.

"Retaining talent is more important than simply attracting talent. High salaries are just a starting point.

"Smaller cities and local industry should learn from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which have professional working environments and better promotion mechanisms."

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn