The second quarter saw more intense competition in the job market, as the growth of job seekers outpaced job postings, a new industry study finds.

Nationwide, around 50 white-collar workers are competing for one position. The job-seeking competition index (which measures resumes received versus number of posts) increased by 2.8 percent quarter on quarter, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, online recruitment firm zhaopin.com said.

Affected by the epidemic, the overall number of job postings and resumes delivered in the April-to-June period has not yet reached the same level compared with last year.

Specifically, the number of job applications jumped by 25.5 percent in the second quarter, outpacing the growth rate of job positions available in the same period (17.7 percent).

Recruits can earn 8,715 yuan (US$1,233) per month on average and the biomedical engineering industry had the largest pay increase, according to the study.