BEIJING – Chinese hotels and restaurants are seeking employees as demand recovers in the services sector after the end of Beijing’s zero-Covid protocols, a survey by a leading recruiter shows.

During the first six days of work after China’s Chinese New Year holiday, job openings in the hotel and catering sectors surged 40 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to a survey published on Friday by Zhaopin, one of the county’s biggest recruitment firms.

Passenger vehicle and freight truck drivers, and plane and train crews are also badly needed, with job openings jumping by 85.2 per cent over the same period, due to busy transport and logistics sectors following China’s post-Covid reopening.

Openings in the tourism services industry grew 58.9 per cent on resurgent demand during the festival season, while posting for workers in the manufacturing sector rose 42.2 per cent.

The survey was taken from Jan 28 to Feb 2 in 38 major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Foshan, Guangzhou and Dongguan cities in southern economic powerhouse Guangdong province saw rapid year-on-year growths in overall job openings, at 43.2 per cent, 19.6 per cent and 9.2 per cent, respectively.

China’s biggest provincial economy aims to achieve more than 5 per cent gross domestic product growth in 2023 after its economy grew only 1.9 per cent in 2022 because of frequent Covid-19 lockdowns.

About 72 per cent of the firms surveyed said they are optimistic about the country’s economic development, with the relaxation of Covid-19 curbs and prioritisation of economic growth boosting confidence.

With higher uncertainty in China’s property and export sectors, however, more job hunters sought secure positions.

About 33.9 per cent of job seekers said they would look for “stable jobs, without layoff risks”, more than 2022’s 26.8 per cent.

China’s services activity in January expanded for the first time in five months, another private survey showed on Friday. REUTERS