The insurance industry has emerged as an unpopular choice for job seekers in China, according to a report released by major careers portal Zhaopin.com.

The report released last month shows the insurance industry recorded only 14.1 points in the report's "competitive index". The intermediary service industry scored 25.1 points, while the healthcare industry received 28.7 points in the index.

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The computer software industry ranked first on the index with 77.3 points, followed by the network gaming industry with 67 points and the electronics and semiconductor sector with 64.5 points.

The real estate, IT and investment sectors have the largest shortage of talent, the report showed.

Zhaopin.com career counselor Zou Lixin said: "The insurance industry is not stable and has high requirements. For example, employees need to possess a strong communication ability and wide connections, and be able to work under pressure."

The public perception of insurance professionals might be low because of reported cases of consumers being cheated by insurance salespeople, Zou said.

"The image of the insurance industry can be negative in people's minds and many applicants might avoid this industry at their parents' persuasion", Zou said.

However, Zou said that many industry practitioners, especially salespeople, may not have an insurance-related background but are able to do the job well with various backgrounds.

"Even though the industry seems to be the most unpopular, I still think it is very promising with the development of the economy and people's focus on their personal financial management", Zou said.

Zhang Jiantao, a department director at the People's Insurance Company of China Beijing branch, said insurance professionals face many challenges.

"The success rate for signing an insurance policy is very low in the beginning, so very few people can continue to hold on to their jobs."