Statistics released by Shanghai's relevant departments show that
the number of foreigners living in Shanghai has exceeded 300,000,
coming from 119 different countries and regions. In the first half
of this year, the proportion of foreigners applying for employment
in Shanghai increased by 31.79 percent compared with the same
period last year.
Most countries hold that in an international metropolis the
proportion of foreign employees should account for more than 5
percent of the total number of people. According to this ratio,
Shanghai should have 700,000 foreign employees, but presently, the
number is far lower than that. With the increasing pace of
Shanghai's internationalization, the number of foreigners coming to
the city is expected to increase enormously.
In
Shanghai's employment markets, fierce competitions exist not only
among Chinese people, but also between Chinese and foreigners.
What's more, there appears to be a situation where foreigners and
Chinese are scrambling for the same "rice bowl." Over the last
three years the number of foreigners coming to Shanghai has
increased by 10 percent per year.
The international division of the Shanghai Bureau of Personnel
reports that foreigners seeking jobs in Shanghai come from two
major groups.
Foreign experts constitute the first group. Shanghai has engaged
over 250,000 various foreign experts since the starting the 9th
Five-Year Plan period (1995-2000). Currently, of the 80,000 foreign
experts working in Shanghai, over 70 percent occupy middle class
management positions, or above, in around 20 thousand foreign
enterprises.
The other group compromises foreign self-employed and employees.
Rough estimates suggest that foreign run restaurants in Shanghai
alone have reached 300. The fields in which employees are now
working are more extensive. Previously they were cooks in
restaurants, and singers in bars, but now there are more and more
foreign people working for a whole range of enterprises.
Canadian Robert B. Smith, general manager of Manpower Business
Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., is very confident about the future
of talent and human resource markets in Shanghai. With Shanghai
becoming more internationalized, many more overseas enterprises are
coming to Shanghai to do business. Naturally, the demand for talent
will increase. Manpower is a solely foreign-invested headhunting
company ranked within the world's top 200.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, November 14, 2002)