Spring Festival is over and the year-end bonuses have been handed out. So for some, now is the time to change jobs. But where are the opportunities and in what sectors?

Forget bigger cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The best job prospects are in emerging regions including Suzhou, Chongqing and Shenzhen, according to a Manpower China survey out yesterday.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Manpower, the world's largest employment service provider, interviewed 3,966 companies on the mainland in January 2010 for the poll.

Hiring prospects also strengthened in 12 other second-tier cities including Wuhan and Xiamen.

Conversely, employers remain cautious on adding additional staff in Xi'an and Qingdao, where the employment outlook reported an 11-percentage point drop quarter-over quarter.

The pace of hiring in Suzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen and other emerging markets is forecast to surpass bigger cities such as Beijng, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the report stated.

In Suzhou, key sectors including auto parts, electronics and manufacturing, "are emerging from the crisis and witnessing increases in orders," said Yuan Jianhua, managing director for Manpower China.

And more orders means more jobs.

"These companies need to secure these business opportunities by adding talent to their workforce," he said.

Second-tier cities stood out for two reasons, urbanization and new investments.

"The undergoing urbanization in these regions creates job opportunities," said Hao Jian, senior career consultant at Zhaopin.com, a human resource service firm based in Beijing.

"Nationwide, the majority of new investments are being made in second-tier cities," he said.

The survey reported that 23 percent of employers expect to increase their workforce in the second quarter, representing a 4-percentage point increase quarter-over-quarter.

Nationwide, the service sector led growth in the forecast, spurred on by the World Expo event scheduled to be held in Shanghai starting in May.

"The highly anticipated 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is creating a positive ripple effect on the country's economy, especially in the Yangtze River Delta region," said Yuan.

He said the region's hospitality, tourism, exhibition, conference, transportation, and translation sectors are likely to enjoy a boon from the fair.

Also hot are the financial, insurance and real estate sectors, where staffing demand remains exuberant - especially when compared with last year at this time, the report showed.

Meanwhile, the outlook for the mining and construction sector remains relatively stable quarter-over-quarter, but showed a considerable improvement of 17-percentage points year on year.