• Apple store employees welcome the customers to buy iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at an Apple store on Oct. 17, 2014 in Beijing, China.

Apple store employees welcome the customers to buy iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus at an Apple store on Oct. 17, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo : Getty Images)

The China Salary Guide for 2016 to 2017 reported that a salary hike will commence this year and the next. The hike will be from 8 to 15 percent.

Published by the Shanghai-based ZW HR Consulting, the guide was issued on July 7 and will apply to first to second tier cities. For employees with additional language skills, the increase will go as high as 25 percent.

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The salary hike should be applied by businesses in the sectors of accounting, banking and finance, aerospace, engineering, chemicals, energy, consumer goods, human resources, IT, legal, life sciences, manufacturing, supply chains and real estate.

Human resource managers are looking for applicants in the fields of IT, sales, marketing, and R&D, while real estate, life sciences, and banking. These are the prime sectors that will be most promising this year until 2017.

Wang Yi, deputy general manager of ChinaHR.com, said, "The national 'Internet Plus' strategy has been carried into an overall development stage, which helped the IT industry lead the average pay list nationwide. Under such high-speed industrial growth, however, the shortage of talent by up to 30 percent is much significant than in other industries."

There is a talent scarcity in the IT sector and has caused salaries to increase significantly to an annual income of 98,470 yuan or $14,730.

Jobs related to life sciences are also in demand. ZW Consulting predicted that the salary increase in this sector will be from 5 to 13 percent.

In the area of supply chain management, professionals can expect a rise of 10 percent to 15 percent, according to ZW Consulting.

The company's chairman, Frank Yu, added, "Candidates with international exposure, good language skills, market knowledge and who are well-disciplined will continue to receive multiple offers as well as counter-offers from their current employer."

Yu also mentioned that although the salary raises are attractive, jobseekers are looking beyond the paycheck and are searching for other incentives such as opportunities for growth in their chosen industry.