Employees work at a firm in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Aug 20, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Competition for white collar workers, such as office and administrative positions has eased to an extent in China, while the average monthly salary rises, says a survey by South China Morning Post.

The competition for these jobs in the third quarter of this year eased somewhat with only 38 people applying for the one position compared with the 45 and 48 applicants in the last two quarters respectively.

In the third quarter, the average salary of white collar workers throughout China rose by 4% and reached 7,500 yuan ($1,000) a month, an increase of around 300 yuan a month for the second quarter.

White collar workers earned the highest average salary in Beijing, earning around 10,000 yuan a month, followed by Shanghai with 9,500 yuan and Shenzhen with 8,500 yuan.

Guo Sheng, the CEO and director of Zhaopin.com, said the job market in the third quarter continued to improve as the economy steadies. He predicted further improvements for the rest of the year.

According to job advertisements in the third quarter, first-tier cities have the largest demand for white collar workers, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Some local central business districts and second-tier and third-tier cities such as Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin, Xi'an and Wuhan also have demand.

In sharp contrast, Shenyang, the capital city of North China's Liaoning province, witnessed a much competitive job market, as the economy in Liaoning province contracted by 1 percent in the start of the year.

Xia Xiaofei, general manager of Shanghai Mercer Insurance Brokers, said it was too early to be optimistic about the economic situation for 2017. She continued to say that as white collar workers remain in their current jobs, it reflects their nervousness on economic prospects. In spite of the uncertainty, she confirmed an ongoing momentum in recruitment for IT.