Companies in Zhangjiagang of Jiangsu province are providing higher salaries to find staff towards the end of the year.

To avoid worker shortages after Spring Festival, a common occurrence in previous years, many companies are recruiting staff. However, only a few people are applying.

Hotels provide better salaries and benefits. A hotel is recruiting five room service workers and is offering 2,000 yuan ($328) a month, along with commission, free food and accommodation. No work experience is required. But the hotel owner, surnamed Zhang, said few people have applied for the positions.

Xiaosu, once an employee in a foreign trade company, said her previous job required her to not only communicate with customers but to also help with the delivery of goods. Sometimes she had to pick up heavy goods. She felt like a porter and the benefits were not good, so she resigned. This time she hopes to find a better job. She will choose carefully.

Although many companies offer better salaries and other benefits such as travel and free accommodation, many job-hunters are still choosing cautiously. The main reason is they hope to spend Spring Festival with family.

“Another reason is that most job-hunters are born in the 1980s or 1990s. They pay more attention to salary, working environment and future development,” a staff person in the human resources market said.