As if 2016 hadn’t been hard enough for China’s workforce, an annual survey has revealed that more than half of the country’s white-collar employees got no year-end bonus ahead of the upcoming (and costly) lunar new year holiday.

The survey of 11,500 workers by Chinese employment agency Zhaopin found that 50.9 per cent did not get an annual bonus at the end of 2016. Another 9.6 per cent were told their bonus had been delayed until after the new year holiday.

Prior to the slowdown that began in 2014 employers in China had been less stingy with cash bonuses, which can total well over a full month’s salary and send employees back home for the holiday with plenty of cash for gifts to elders and other family members (or to squirrel away as savings).