In the first quarter of 2020, the number of job postings in China has declined by 24% year-on-year (YoY), a report released jointly by China Institute for Employment Research (CIER) and online recruiting platform Zhilian shows.

The quarterly report reflects the Chinese labor market performance by the CIER Index, which equals the number of applicants divided by the number of market openings. In the last quarter, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the index fell 14% YoY, reaching an all-time record low of 1.02 in March.

In the meantime, hiring demand mounted in the entertainment and sports sectors, which the report put  into one category with a 3.13 CIER Index, up from 2.99 in the previous quarter. The report also noted that openings “related to livestreaming” saw an 84% YoY surge in the month after Lunar New Year.

This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.