GUANGZHOU, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The number of job hunters with tertiary education qualifications surpassed those with only high school or secondary technical school degrees in this year's first job fair in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

It is the first time in 16 years for those with tertiary degrees to outnumber job hunters with lower education levels, according to the Guangzhou human resource market service center.

A total of 30.74 percent of job hunters had graduated from universities or colleges, up almost 8 percent year-on-year, while those with high school or secondary technical school degrees accounted for 29.38 percent, according to Li Hanzhang, director of the center.

"Industrial upgrading and transformation have boosted demand for a higher level of qualifications and skills of employees," Li said.

Official data showed that in Guangdong Province, China's manufacturing hub, R&D investment accounted for 2.58 percent of the total output value in 2016, which was close to the level of developed countries.