China’s Finance, Property Firm Workforces Shrink for First Time

China’s finance and property companies saw their workforces shrink in recent years for the first time, reflecting the damage caused by a housing market collapse and regulatory probes.

The financial industry had 12.4 million employees at end-2023, down 32% from five years earlier, according to economic census data released Thursday. The number of people working for developers slid 27% to 2.7 million people.