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Advanced manufacturing and the provision of services and entertainment – including pet and aged care and the production of short dramas – are powering pockets of growth in an otherwise sluggish Chinese job market, according to data from an online recruitment platform. A report looking at third-quarter employment trends published this week by the platform, Zhaopin, said the new materials sector led all employment categories with a 66.7 per cent year-on-year increase in job postings in the period from July to September. In the “modern services” category, the pet care industry saw job postings jump 43.7 per cent year on year, with demand for veterinarians up 128.2 per cent and 67.3 per cent more openings for pet groomers. The report linked that growth to “an upgrade in household consumption and rising emotional spending”. “Overall, talent demand in the third quarter of 2025 closely followed China’s industrial upgrading and consumption shifts,” the platform said. “Advanced manufacturing is driving demand for high-end technical talent, while modern services are expanding job opportunities through new consumption scenarios. Steady growth in AI and other frontier sectors is further aligning labour demand with industrial development.” China’s urban unemployment rate remained stable at 5.2 per cent in September, edging down slightly from 5.3 per cent in August, but sentiment remains muted amid reports of lay-offs and pay cuts. The urban youth unemployment rate – for those aged 16 to 24, excluding students – dipped to 17.7 per cent in September from 18.9 per cent in August, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. The August figure, which followed a record graduation season that saw 12.2 million university students enter an already shaky labour market, was the highest since the data set was adjusted in 2023 to exclude students. Advanced manufacturing continued to create jobs, with a new wave of hi-tech materials – from those used in artificial intelligence-related optoelectronics to aerospace alloys and energy-efficient silicon carbide – fuelling a surge in the hiring of engineers and technicians. The report said the new materials sector’s rapid application of research breakthroughs was “driving continuous iterations in both technology and demand, creating strong momentum for R&D, production and demand for application talent”. Skilled frontline operators are key to keeping production running efficiently The optoelectronics industry saw a 54.2 per cent increase in openings, ranking second and emerging as a new growth driver within advanced manufacturing. Military and defence manufacturing ranked third, with 54 per cent growth, underpinned by sustained investment in aerospace and defence technologies, the report said. “As information technology advances and large-capacity fibre-optic networks take shape, China’s optoelectronics industry is moving into a new stage of high-speed, integrated and intelligent growth – where skilled frontline operators are key to keeping production running efficiently,” it said. Hiring also accelerated in robotics, as openings for robot debugging engineers and algorithm engineers both rose more than 50 per cent. Demand for industrial robot engineers was up 25.4 per cent. Research and development in robotics was seeing emerging civil-use segments – such as service robots for homes and deliveries, and special-purpose robots for security and rescue applications – rapidly advance from the laboratory to the market, driving strong demand for technical talent to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialisation, the report said. Job openings in aged care and nursing services were up 29.2 per cent, those for carers rose 36.1 per cent and demand for rehabilitation therapists increased by 25.7 per cent, which Zhaopin said reflected the growing need for elderly care services as China’s population ages. In Chinese cities, the report said the need to unwind was generating its own jobs boom. From gyms to massage studios, people were spending more on experiences that promised stress relief and emotional support. Hiring for leisure-related roles – from sports coaches to massage therapists – surged, reflecting the rise of what some economists call the “comfort economy”. Online, a new cultural export is taking shape. The short-drama industry, built around fast-paced, tightly scripted storylines, has become a magnet for editors, screenwriters and actors – emerging as one of the most dynamic corners of China’s digital content scene. Opening for positions in the short-drama industry rose 26 per cent year on year in the first three quarters.
