The gap between people looking for work and available jobs widened in the third quarter, according to a report by the Shanghai Job Placement Center.

About 341,000 people applied for 317,000 jobs in the city during the third quarter and applicants found it harder to find a job, it said.

The center predicted demand for manpower in the last three months would continue to decrease.

The number of jobs in the logistics and storage industries decreased during the third quarter, dropping 12.5 percent compared with the previous three-month period. Most of the companies in the sector advertised for mechanics and container cargo management staff with comparatively low requirements.

But demand for client service staff increased, the report said. Compared with the second quarter this year, the number of the positions jumped 5.6 percent between July and September.

According to Su Yeting, a job consultant at the Changning District branch of the Shanghai Job Placement Center, said requirements for education and experience were not high for these positions, which attracted more applicants, including those who had never worked in the industry.

"Not everyone is suitable for client service work. On average about 30 percent of people working in the industry will change their job in the future," Su said in the report.

Supermarkets provided about 2.7 percent of the center's available jobs. In addition to cashiers, goods management staff and security guards, supermarkets were hiring chefs, bakers, plumbers and repairmen, the report said.

Based on a survey involving 3,200 Shanghai companies, the center said about 52.4 percent of the companies were scheduled to hire new recruits in the last quarter of this year, a small drop compared with the third quarter.

Marketing and sales, production and client services position were most in demand while fewer positions were available in office administration, accounting and auditing, according to the report.

(Shanghai Daily October 30, 3008)