Throughout 2025, the China talent market continued to release several noteworthy positive signals. As we review these changes, we aim to answer a question that both enterprises and candidates are concerned about:
How should compensation and talent strategies be positioned for 2026?
For the seventh consecutive year, RGF International Recruitment has systematically analyzed the Chinese compensation and talent market to present the latest RGF Salary Watch 2026 Mainland China report.
This report provides an in-depth analysis of the development trends of the Mainland China talent market in 2025, employer-side compensation and benefits trends, and launches a panoramic salary guide covering six core sectors: TMT, Industrial, Consumer Goods & Retail, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Corporate Services. It includes key salary indices, trending positions, high-demand skills, and salary tables from the past three years. By outlining core salary indicators and talent gaps, the report provides actionable market benchmarks to help companies adapt to market shifts and formulate precise talent strategies for 2026.
Content Highlights
1. Market Review: Resilience in Talent Demand
According to RGF statistics, despite downward economic pressure in certain industries, the Mainland China talent market has demonstrated strong resilience.
Corporate recruitment demand spiked by 31% year-on-year in Q4 2025, signaling a recovery in corporate confidence and the commencement of forward-looking talent positioning for 2026. The supply of active job seekers remained high throughout the year, with year-on-year growth peaking at 32% in Q3. Interview acceptance rates increased by up to 14% in Q3, reflecting significantly improved efficiency and alignment between employers and candidates.
2. Compensation & Benefits Trends: Identifying Key Drivers
Based on RGF’s latest research from December 2025, salary expectations remain the core factor determining recruitment success. Approximately 40% of failed recruitment cases were attributed to a mismatch in salary expectations. "Salary Inversion"—where new hires receive higher pay than internal veterans—has emerged as a prominent HR challenge, affecting 33% of surveyed companies.
Once salary expectations are met, career development opportunities become the most valued non-material incentive for candidates. Additionally, 67% of recruitment heads agree that increasing salary budgets by 10% can significantly improve Recruitment ROI, highlighting the necessity for corporate pay scales to align with current market conditions.
3. Salary Guide: Notable Growth in Specialized Roles
The report predicts that for external recruitment in 2026, employers in core sectors across Mainland China will offer market-driven salary increases, with specialized roles seeing particularly impressive growth:
· TMT: Average projected salary increase of 20% for external hires. High-potential roles such as AI Specialists, Data Product Specialists, and Privacy Computing Experts may see increases of up to 30%.
· Industrial: Average projected salary increase of 12%. R&D Engineers and AI Application Engineers may see increases of up to 30%.
· Consumer Goods & Retail: Average projected salary increase of 16%. Roles in O2O Integration/New Retail Operations and Product Management may see increases of up to 25%.
· Healthcare & Life Sciences: Average projected salary increase of 15%. Sales and Marketing professionals may see increases of up to 20%.
4. Future Outlook: Three Strategic Pillars for 2026 Talent Management
RGF China leadership emphasized: "Precise talent matching, internal capability empowerment, and cross-industry talent mobility will serve as the three core pillars for building an efficient talent strategy in 2026." The report recommends that companies deeply integrate global standards with local market practices, shifting toward performance-oriented incentive mechanisms and implementing long-term retention plans for core talent.
The RGF Salary Watch 2026 Mainland China report (45 pages) uses data as its foundation and insight as its wings to provide a "navigation map" for the talent market.
Click the link to download the full report, or contact your RGF consultant to obtain a copy.
