Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, is listed as the top destination for new job recruits in the country, according to a report released by a Chinese recruitment website Liepin.com.

Statistics show that the net rate of new job recruits flowing into Hangzhou is 9.88 percent in the second quarter of 2018, followed by Changsha and Xi'an at 9.21 and 9.12 percent respectively. 

Perhaps surprisingly, China's traditional first-tier cities Beijing and Shanghai only rank 13th and 17th on the list. 

This is due to the fact that despite Beijing and Shanghai boasting rich job opportunities and resources, the skyrocketing house prices and high thresholds for settlement makes it impossible for many immigrant workers to settle there, according to an analyst from Liepin.

It is notable that the internet sector is the biggest driver of both supply and demand among all industries in Hangzhou, where China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has its headquarters. 

A trend of new job recruit mobility can also be seen in the average annual salary in first and second-tier cities, where the gap between them is narrowing.

Statistics show that recruits in Hangzhou earn an average annual salary of 190,700 yuan ($27,670), ranking fifth in China and closely following Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou at 247,900 yuan, 240,400 yuan, 240,100 yuan and 217,800 yuan respectively.