Chinese Job Sites Suffer as Global Crisis Slows Hiring
Chinese online recruitment site 51job.com said fourth-quarter revenue declined, echoing losses by its competitors as clients hit by the economic crisis cut back hiring.
51job's revenue tumbled 8.1 percent to 196.2 million yuan (US$26.2 million) and revenue from online recruitment fell to 72.7 million yuan, a drop of 5.4 percent compared to the same period one year earlier.
"Hiring activity slowed materially in the fourth quarter as many corporate customers scaled back their recruitment efforts and cut spending in the face of worsening global economic conditions," 51job CEO Rick Yan said in a statement.
"The current market sentiment among employers in China continues to be highly cautious," he said.
The downturn has also hit China's other two major recruitment Web sites, ChinaHR.com and Zhaopin.com. ChinaHR generated losses of US$3.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to parent company Monster Worldwide's most recent financial report.
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