The 2025 China Overseas Returnees Employment Report is out! The number of returnees breaks records again, and these majors are the most sought-after.

Recently, Zhaopin.com released the "2025 China Overseas Returnees Employment Survey Report." The report analyzes the job positions and salaries of overseas returnees seeking employment in China over the past year, as well as changes in the demand for overseas returnees from domestic companies, providing a reference for their employment. Let's take a look at the report's details!

Image source: Zhaopin.com

In 2025, the number of overseas returnees seeking employment in China will increase by 5% compared to 2024, and will be 1.51 times that of 2018; among them, the number of recent overseas graduates returning to China to seek employment will increase by as much as 12%, reaching 2.25 times that of 2018, setting a record high in nearly eight years!

There are two main reasons why so many international students choose to return to China: a genuine attraction.

On the one hand, national policies provide strong support. From the central to local levels, a series of measures to attract talent have been implemented, covering various aspects such as employment and entrepreneurship support, relaxed residency requirements, research funding, and housing subsidies. On the other hand, high-quality development of the domestic economy has created a large number of high-level employment opportunities, giving overseas returnees a broader scope to utilize their international perspectives and professional skills.

Now, returning home after completing their studies is no longer an alternative, but rather the primary choice for more and more international students upon graduation.

Image source: Zhaopin.com

In terms of the distribution of study abroad destinations, the study abroad landscape for returnees in 2025 is becoming increasingly diversified. The report shows that among returnees seeking employment in China in 2025, the top three study abroad destinations remain the UK (33.5%), Australia (21.6%), and the US (7.8%), a relatively stable pattern.

The real surprise is on the "growth list": the number of overseas students from Malaysia and Singapore returning to China to seek employment increased by 65.0% and 50.1% year-on-year, respectively, far ahead of the others; in addition, the number of returnees from Australia (41.1%) and Russia (29.1%) also grew very rapidly.

Image source: Zhaopin.com

In terms of education level, among the overseas returnees seeking employment in China in 2025, those with master's degrees accounted for as high as 80.9%, making them the absolute main force in employment; those with bachelor's degrees accounted for 16.0%, and those with doctoral degrees accounted for 3.1%, showing an overall "highly educated" characteristic.

There are also significant differences in employment paths for people with different educational backgrounds: undergraduates and master's degree holders prefer positions such as management trainees and educational consultants, while doctoral degree holders mainly focus on university teaching positions, research institutions, and R&D positions in cutting-edge fields such as biomedicine and artificial intelligence, taking the "high-end, sophisticated, and cutting-edge" route.

In terms of professional distribution, a dual-dominant pattern emerges: "Business studies remain popular, while STEM fields experience explosive growth." Traditional business and social science majors such as finance, accounting, and law remain popular choices for returnees, consistently ranking high due to their practicality and adaptability. Meanwhile, the supply of STEM majors (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) closely related to core areas of new productivity has increased significantly. Majors such as computer science and technology, data science, mechanical engineering, artificial intelligence, and materials science have all entered the top 20 list of popular majors for returnees.

This also confirms a trend: the choice of major for studying abroad is becoming increasingly aligned with the needs of domestic industrial upgrading, and the suitability of the major is more important than the prestige of a prestigious university in determining future employment competitiveness.

Which industries do overseas returnees favor most? Which industries offer the highest salaries and have the strongest demand? The report provides clear answers.

Traditional advantageous industries remain strong. In 2025, among the preferred positions for overseas returnees, education/training/schools accounted for 30.3%, consulting services for 8.7%, and trade/import and export for 3.4%, totaling over 40%, with an average monthly salary between 12,000 and 16,000 yuan. The core reason these industries can consistently attract overseas returnees is that they can maximize their language advantages, cross-cultural communication skills, and overseas study experience.

But the real dark horse is the industry related to new quality productivity! As China's manufacturing industry transforms towards high-end, intelligent and green development, and enterprises accelerate their internationalization, overseas returnees with technical background and international experience are becoming increasingly sought after.

In terms of recruitment growth, the metal products industry (23.1%), special equipment manufacturing (14.8%), and petroleum/petrochemical industry (12.8%) saw the highest growth rates in overseas returnee positions. In terms of salary, these industries offered highly competitive compensation: pharmaceutical manufacturing averaged 17,493 yuan per month, electronics/semiconductors/integrated circuits 16,263 yuan, new energy 15,933 yuan, while the power/water/heat/gas industry had an average monthly salary exceeding 18,000 yuan, leading all other industries.

The job demand in the new productivity industry presents a dual theme of "technology research and development + overseas market expansion". It needs both R&D talents who have mastered cutting-edge technologies and international business talents who can help Chinese technologies and products go global, providing opportunities for returnees from different majors.

The report shows that the geographical distribution of employment opportunities for overseas returnees is becoming increasingly diverse.

First-tier and new first-tier cities remain the top choices for overseas returnees seeking employment. Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen account for 31.5%, 17.6%, and 7.5% of job applications from overseas returnees, respectively, ranking in the top three. Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou follow closely behind. These top ten cities absorb nearly 80% of job applications from overseas returnees. The high-quality resources, high-end positions, and development platforms of these cities continue to hold irreplaceable appeal.

However, a more noteworthy trend is that overseas returnees are increasingly seeking employment in lower-tier cities, with third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier cities becoming new "blue oceans." In 2025, the number of overseas returnees submitting resumes to fifth-tier cities increased by 30.8% year-on-year, while the growth rates for fourth- and third-tier cities reached 24.8% and 21.9% respectively, both significantly higher than those for first-tier cities (11.3%) and new first-tier cities (9.4%).

Overall, the employment market for Chinese returnees in 2025 presents a promising outlook: policy support and industrial upgrading have paved a broader path for their development; the increasing diversity of study destinations, majors, and cities has also enabled returnees from different backgrounds to find suitable career paths.