Premier Wen Jiabao said China's economy was showing "positive changes" today and that matches what we are seeing in our Industrial clients' job orders and interviews.
As if in contrast to this we have been facing a growing number of offers to candidates well below their current salaries and expectations. It would seem that the pendulum has swung and HR officers and administrators all over China are now trying to exercise leverage on the market salaries of prospective candidates.
In several cases this month we have seen gainfully employed "passive" candidates work their way through the usual five-plus meeting interview process only to be offered salaries 30-40% lower than their current packages. (A stark contrast to last year's norm of 30-40% increase.)
It is my belief that this is due to the drastic cost-cutting we have seen in corporations throughout the Industrial sector in what is a traditionally cost-conscious set of companies.
While there is room in the market for a salary cool-down, what we have been seeing is more likely to continue as companies have been lowering salaries and slashing bonuses.
I would look for a much lower salary increase/bonus percentage in the coming financial quarters in 2009 that coincides with an improving economy.
This is good news for recruiters if you know where to look for the silver lining: the talent market has been overheated for years and if companies are able to capitalize on the current cooling in salaries it may help maintain China's profitability as a manufacturing center in Asia and keep the hiring trend moving in the right direction.
Industrial companies looking for candidates in the market now will be better positioned than ever to take advantage of the quality candidates China has to offer. The only caveat I would add at the moment is that low-balling candidates is not the best strategy for moving high-potential candidates - interested companies should work with their recruiters or RPM consultants to target candidates at the right level to make a move make sense.
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