Shenzhen companies are paying more to recruit better-qualified staff in the new year, a study by the municipal labor and social security bureau has found.

The study, based on a survey of 481 companies in different industries, also found that the city would hire up to 400,000 workers in the first three months of the year 2006, the number being at par with the same period last year.

The study suggests that junior high school graduates would find it difficult to land a job in Shenzhen this year, as more companies are looking for workers with senior high school graduation certificates, said a labor bureau official surnamed Huang. The surveyed companies required 20 percent of their workers to hold a primary professional title, compared with 15 percent last year.

Many companies have plans to raise salaries, according to the investigation, which did not include the rate of salary increase.

Migrant workers expect to earn more than 1,100 yuan (US$137.5) a month this year, according to a survey released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on Monday. The survey was conducted among 5,300 migrant workers from 48 counties in 25 provinces.

The ministry carried out a survey among 2,606 companies and found that 63 percent of them planned to increase salaries. The survey also found that the average ordinary worker would earn 949 yuan, higher than the previous year.

(Shenzhen Daily February 7, 2006)