Job demand in China's eldercare sector up 50%

Since early this year, job demand for China's elderly care service sector has increased by 50 percent on a yearly basis, Economic View app reported quoting data from BOSS Zhipin Academy.

China's "silver economy" saw rapid development in recent years. Besides regular positions such as caregivers, new jobs in great demand include chatting with the elderly, offering customized travel and pension plans, teaching square dancing, health appraisers and nutritionists.

In addition, the smart elderly care service sector also has an urgent demand for new technical personnel engaged in artificial intelligence and big data.

Some mainstream applications involving online shopping, tourism and video entertainment have done a series of improvements adapted for the elderly. Some apps customized for seniors even attracted tech giants and investment institutions.

For example, Jelly Bean Square, an app teaching the elderly about square dancing, got C-round financing in April 2019 led by tech giant Tencent. According to corporate information tracker Tianyancha, among nine apps of this same kind, four have obtained financing.

In addition, some special apps for the elderly involving health maintenance, traditional Chinese opera and social networking have also emerged. Talented individuals familiar with the needs of the elderly as well as product development for seniors are increasingly in demand.

In BOSS Zhipin, an online job recruitment platform, people in charge of internet products serving the elderly have a monthly salary of 15,000-45,000 yuan, while those in charge of research and applications in the elderly care service sector who have a PhD degree in areas related to artificial intelligence can command a maximum monthly salary of 60,000 yuan.

China's elderly care service market has huge room for development, and by 2030, the market is expected to be worth more than 20 trillion yuan, Shanghai Securities News earlier reported.

More new consumption modes and business opportunities are expected to emerge with China's increasing elderly population, Economic View added.