China's labor markets are flashing a warning sign, with new job adverts on a leading recruitment website sharply down in April, and job losses in manufacturing spreading to the services sector.

　　中国劳动力市场开始闪现警告标志。今年4月，一家主要招聘网站上的新增招聘广告突然大幅减少，制造业的失业现象开始向服务业蔓延。

　　With the official data on labor markets infrequent -- and, in some cases, misleading -- alternative indicators take on an added significance. China Real Time took advantage of China's glut of recent graduates to have an unpaid intern find the best guides to the state of hiring and firing.

　　由于官方很少发布有关劳动力市场的数据，而且有时还会具有误导性，因此其它指标就会背负更多意义。中国现在有大量应届生面临毕业，这让《华尔街日报》“中国实时报”栏目有机会通过无薪实习生来很好地了解当前公司招聘和解雇的情况。

　　Check out the charts. It's more fun that trawling the 'help wanted' ads.

　　请参看以下图表。搜寻那些“求助”广告更有意思。

　　With China's white-collar workers taking their job search online, recruitment websites like Zhaopin.com have become one measure of labor market strength. In April, the number of new job opportunities on Zhaopin.com plunged 23% from the previous month. With the first quarter a seasonal peak for hiring, some decline in April is normal. But Zhaopin still saw warning signs.

　　中国白领人士都在网上找工作，所以像智联招聘(Zhaopin.com)这样的招聘网站成了衡量中国劳动力市场强度的一个指标。今年4月，智联招聘上的新增工作机会在数量上环比骤降23%。由于第一季度是招聘高峰季，所以4月招聘广告数量有所下降也属正常。但智联招聘仍看到了警告信号。

　　'Slowing growth in economy and industries has resulted in job cuts. Since the second half of last year, waves of job cuts were seen in several industries, including IT, telecommunication, power, manufacturing, financial and online retailers. Companies that cut jobs range from large multi-internationals to state-owned enterprises,' a Zhaopin spokesman said.

　　智联招聘发言人说，经济和工业增速放缓导致公司裁员；从去年下半年开始，IT、电信、电力、制造业、金融和在线零售等几个行业都出现裁员浪潮，裁员企业既包括大型跨国公司，也包括中国国企。

　　China's purchasing managers' indexes also pointed to job losses. The official PMI employment index came in at 49 in April, down from 49.8 in March and the 11th straight month below the 50 mark that separates hiring from firing. The preliminary HSBC Markit PMI for May showed factories shedding workers for a second month.

　　中国采购经理人指数(PMI)也表明就业岗位在减少。今年4月，官方PMI就业指数为49，低于3月的49.8，连续第11个月低于招聘和解雇的枯荣线50。汇丰/Markit 5月份PMI初值显示，工厂在连续第二个月裁员。

　　In a worrying sign, the HSBC survey also showed service sector firms starting to shed jobs in April, the first time they have done so since January 2009.

　　另外一个令人担心的迹象是，汇丰的调查还表明，服务业公司从4月开始裁员，这是2009年1月以来的首次。

　　A survey of more than 600 firms conducted in March by human resources consulting firm Mercer also pointed to a slowdown in hiring plans. The survey found 51% of firms planning to add to their headcount, and 16% planning layoffs, a move in the wrong direction from 55% and 9% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2012.

　　人力资源咨询公司美世(Mercer)今年3月对600多家公司的调查显示，企业在招聘计划方面放缓了脚步。调查发现，51%的公司有增加员工的打算，16%的公司打算裁员。与此形成鲜明对比的是，2012年第四季度打算这么做的公司分别为55%和9%。

　　Cherry Xu, senior consultant at Mercer China, said employers are more cautious than the same period of last year, when the demand for hiring was notably higher.

　　美世中国的高级咨询师Cherry Xu说，相比去年同期，雇主现在更为谨慎，去年的这个时候招聘需求明显高于现在。

　　If China's labor markets are turning down, they are doing so from a position of strength. Real wages in the private sector rose 14% in 2012, higher than the 12.3% growth in 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics said last week.

　　如果中国劳动力市场真地开始降温，那也是在一个相对坚实的基础上开始下行的。中国国家统计局上周说，2012年私营行业员工实际工资增长了14%，增速高于2011年的12.3%。