The Importance of Social Skills: Evidence from Chinese Labor Market

Social skills are increasingly valued in global labor markets, yet their significance in the Chinese labor market has not been fully explored. This study examines the demand for specific social skills in China from the perspective of employers by analyzing job postings from 51job.com. We utilize a keyword tagging approach to evaluate job descriptions, identifying the requirement of social skills across various occupations. Our findings reveal that social skills are widely sought after by firms, with their impact on posted salaries differing among various social sub-skills. We find the presence of communication and collaboration skills does not guarantee higher salaries. Furthermore, we observe that employers often see collaboration and technical skills as substitutes. However, in specific job categories such as operations management, library services, sales, and clerical positions, communication skills complement technical skills, highlighting employers’ preference for this combination of skills in these roles.