Joey Lu, an operations manager at a Shenzhen-based co-working office, is hiring two administrative assistants to fill vacancies left earlier this year.

Compared to the same period last year, she said, she has received far more résumés.

“There are more jobseekers in the market, but our company and most of our clients tend to maintain their current workforce, with no plans to expand,” Lu said.

She noted that many of her industry peers are struggling to retain clients and reduce office vacancies, as many companies have cut office space and budgets.

According to a report released last week by Chinese recruitment agency Liepin, 30.85 per cent of surveyed companies plan to increase hiring in the first quarter of 2025, down from 39.3 per cent in the same period last year. However, this was an improvement from the 25.64 per cent reported in the fourth quarter of 2024.