BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The booming digital economy is facilitating talent flows in various sectors in China against the impact of COVID-19 this year, an industry report showed.

The Internet industry stood out as the top destination for the inflow of professionals in 2020, according to a survey by professional networking platform Maimai, citing data from its some 110 million users.

Professionals with expertise in algorithm and cloud computing are in huge demand, while livestreamers and online teachers are much-needed, echoing the rise of livestreaming e-commerce and online education this year partly due to the epidemic, the report said.

South China's tech hub Shenzhen reported the biggest inflow of professionals, followed by the digital economy pioneer city of Hangzhou.

"We will see more integration of online and offline businesses across different sectors and rising demand for related professionals," said Maimai founder and CEO Lin Fan, adding that talent hunting services rose markedly in the second half of this year.