What will be the monthly salary of women in 2023?

"The average monthly salary of women in 2023 will be 8,689 yuan."

"The average monthly salary of women in the first-line and new first-line workplaces in 2023 will be 18,903 yuan."

The above data , are you "averaged"? Recently, some recruitment platforms have released statistical data, triggering collective anxiety among netizens - "I'm sorry, I'm holding the country back again."

Some sharp-eyed netizens pointed the finger at the "average monthly salary" for the inflated data. Indeed, average monthly salary is almost always the least popular and most controversial statistic. As many people have ridiculed, it makes no sense to average the monthly salary of workers with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan and Musk's. In statistics, the median is more representative of the general level than the average.

However, the data does not conform to reality and the calculation method of average cannot be entirely blamed. If you compare the official average data, you can clearly see how unreliable the average data of the recruitment platform itself is.

In the "2023 China Women's Workplace Situation Survey Report" released by Zhaopin Recruitment, the average monthly salary of women in 2023 is 8,689 yuan, and the average monthly salary of men is 9,942 yuan.

In the "Insight Report on Women in the Workplace in First-tier and New First-tier Cities" released by Lagou Recruitment, the average monthly salary of women in the first-tier and new first-tier cities in 2023 is 18,903 yuan, and the average monthly salary of men is 22,371 yuan.

According to the 2021 average salary data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the average annual salary of employees in urban non-private units nationwide in 2021 is 106,837 yuan, and the average annual salary of employees in urban private units nationwide in 2021 is 62,884 yuan. This average data is far lower than the average data released by the recruitment platform.

Obviously, the statistics released by the recruitment platform are ridiculously high. It is not just a matter of "average", but its statistical samples and statistical numbers determine that the statistical results never represent the general public.

Take Lagou recruitment data as an example. The report shows that its data collection samples come from four first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, and five new first-tier cities, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Suzhou. According to the Beijing Youth Daily, the samples of this data are mainly from Lagou recruitment users. 81% of the academic qualifications are bachelor's and master's degrees, and less than 20% are junior college and below. In terms of working experience, 80% of users have more than 2 years of experience. Internet work experience, so the overall salary level is higher. Lagou Recruitment also announced that the data adopts a sampling survey method, with a sample size of 8,437 and valid data of 2,583.

It is not surprising that the conclusions drawn by a specific group and a small number of samples are not in line with the public perception.

The basis for Zhaopin’s conclusion that “women’s average monthly salary is 8,689 yuan” was not disclosed. Whether the sample is representative and whether the sample size is reasonable is also questionable.

These key information are ignored or deliberately hidden during the dissemination process. As a result, unnecessary anxiety is caused and people feel that they are doing too badly.

As a data publisher, we clearly understand the limitations of these data. Perhaps this limitation plays into their favour. Because the data is linked to platform interests and business demands, the purpose is to attract more companies or job seekers to settle in. It is essentially a platform promotion, but it is presented in seemingly objective "research data" packaging. Since it is "the king sells melons, he sells himself and boasts", the higher the salary data, the better. Its subtext is still - we have high-paying positions here, come and take a look.

Therefore, with regard to recruitment platform statistics, to use an outdated saying, "If you are serious, you will lose." No wonder some experts can't stand it, calling on the platform to ensure that the number of samples released by the statistical data is large enough, and that the release should be professional, objective and fair, and avoid generalizations.