By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Apr 17 -- Hangzhou city in eastern China Zhejiang Province surpasses Beijing to rank second in need of IC fresh university graduates, and Shanghai topped the list, said the latest JW Insights report entitled “2023 IC Industry Recruitment of IC University Graduates and Their Salary Trends.”

First-tier and new first-tier cities account for more than 80% of the demand for IC fresh graduates. Hangzhou is regarded as a new first-tier city in China.

For the IC jobs, 42.39% of the total are in the first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Jobs from the new first-tier cities like Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Xi’an account for 46.11% of the total.

The 2023 JW Insights report also noted that IC companies are more careful in their recruiting efforts now with more industry uncertainties. Among the IC enterprises with the need to hire fresh graduates in 2023, 39.37% of them reduced headcounts compared to last year.

Shanghai ranks first in demand for IC fresh graduates, accounting for 24.72% of the total job postings, followed by Hangzhou and Beijing.

More than 30% of enterprises will begin recruitment plans before August during the 2023 autumn recruitment season, avoiding the peak time in September and October.

The annual salary in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chengdu exceeded RMB300,000 ($43,660) for IC fresh graduates in 2023, higher than the industry average, said the JW Insights report.

Compared to 2022, the average salary increase of fresh graduates in Shanghai is the highest of 9.74%, followed by Xi'an and Chengdu.

JW Insights is the leading Chinese consulting service for the country's semiconductor and ICT industries. The detailed report is available on its official website and app in Chinese (ijiwei.com).