Despite Hangzhou's eye-catching development in digital economy over the years, Shanghai plays a crucial role in supporting structure optimization of talent in this field in the Yangtze River Delta region, according to a report unveiled on Tuesday.

Entry-level workers accounted for more than 40 percent of the talents that flowed into Shanghai from the rest of the region, while such workers accounted for 37 percent of those who flowed out from the city, according to the Digital Economy and Talent Development Report for China's Yangtze River Delta Region.

In comparison, senior workers from director level and above accounted for 16 percent of the talents that flowed into Shanghai, while they accounted for nearly 19 percent of those who flowed out, the report said.

The figures showed something special about Shanghai as the ratio of both entry-level and senior workers flowing in and out from other cities, such as Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou, in the region, were pretty close, said Chen Yubo, head of the Center for Internet Development and Governance under the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University. 

"It showed that Shanghai welcomed young digital talents, many of whom are fresh graduates from other areas of the Yangtze River Delta region or overseas thanks to the city's advantage in international connectivity," Chen said.

"After gaining experience in the industry in Shanghai for several years, they may flow out to other cities," he said.

The report, based on user data by LinkedIn, a US-based networking website, was jointly conducted by the Center for Internet Development and Governance, the Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology Policy, and LinkedIn China. 

The report also shows that more than 20 percent of the digital talents flowing out from Shanghai worked in information and communication technology and 18 percent worked in manufacturing industry, which exactly fits the industrial strengths of East China's Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, parts of which encompass the river delta.