Job seekers apply earlier this year

There was a spike in the number of people seeking new jobs during the Spring Festival holiday, well ahead of the traditional peak that usually occurs after Lantern Festival.

Zhaopin, China's biggest job recruitment site, noted that its users sent out an average of 8.62 resumes between Feb 6 and Feb 12.

Some of the most active job-hoppers work in real estate and manufacturing, where a slowing economy has negatively affected opportunities, according to Wang Yixin, a senior consultant at Zhaopin.