Companies on the Chinese mainland will continue to boost their recruitment, with 65 percent saying they would do so in the third quarter of this year, a rise from 64 percent in the second quarter, a survey showed Tuesday.

In a sign that the Chinese economy is expanding, the hiring expectations rose for the fourth consecutive quarter, according to the survey, conducted by Hudson, a provider of human resources services.

Covering more than 1,500 decision makers in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore, the study said every industry surveyed has higher hiring expectations in the third quarter this year. The 65 percent of respondents who forecast a rise in head count is more than double the 27 percent in the same quarter in 2009.

Meanwhile, about 59 percent of the employers said they would consider a 10 percent salary rise for their top talent to dissuade them from resigning, the survey showed.

The banking and financial services sector had the highest hiring expectations of 79 percent, while the lowest was the media, PR and advertising sector with 34 percent.

Among employers willing to offer higher salaries, 28 percent said they would increase them by more than 20 percent - a better figure than the Hong Kong and Singapore markets. The IT and technology industry has the highest proportion of respondents, 43 percent, who said they will offer a salary rise of more than 20 percent.

A buoyant job market saw applicants rejecting offers made by 45 percent of the employers during the past six months.