Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200811/20081120/article_381380.htm
China's jobless rate to worsen next year
Created: 2008-11-20 18:10:33, Updated: 2008-11-20 18:47:31
Author:Lydia Chen
CHINA'S urban jobless rate is expected to rise above 4.5 percent next year as more people may lose their jobs due to the global economic meltdown, the country's human resources minister warned today.
More setbacks will appear in the first quarter of next year despite the government's efforts to contain the rate within a prescribed annual target of 4.5 percent by the end of this year, Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, told a news conference in Beijing this morning.
The job market may turn around in the second quarter but the total number of employed in the country is still expected to be lower than this year, he added.
The number of newly employed reached 10.2 million in the first 10 months of 2008, exceeding the country's projection for the entire year by 2 percent, Yin said.
About 4.5 million laid-off workers were reemployed by October, completing 90 percent of this year's target, he added.
The urban unemployment rate stood at 4 percent at the end of September, according to Yin.
But the ongoing financial crisis began to bite in October, when growth of newly employed rate started to fall to 8 percent from an average of 9 percent from January through September, the first drop in the past few years, Zhang Xiaojian, the vice minister added at the conference.
Meanwhile, the demand by companies for workers also slipped for the first time in the past couple of years. Demand dropped 5.5 percent after September.
The marginal drop in labor demand will probably continue next year amid the deteriorating economic environment and global financial crisis, Zhang said, citing a ministry survey of 84 labor markets across the country.
The employment situation is "severe and the impact is still developing," Yin told reporters. "This situation can create labor relations problems. Stabilizing employment is the top priority for us right now."
An overview of the country's job market may be even grimmer. The urban jobless rate doesn't include unemployment among the 120 million migrant workers who have left their hometowns in search of work because their mobility makes it difficult to keep track of them, Yin said.
The government is paying close attention as more migrant workers are starting to go home after small and medium-sized companies in labor-intensive industries such as textiles and garment manufacturing have halted production or shut down due to slumping export orders, Yin said.
In Jiangxi Province alone, about 300,000 migrant workers have already returned to their hometowns, Yin said.
Smart Union Group (Holdings) Ltd, a toy maker that supplies Mattel Inc and Hasbro Inc, shut last month. About 7,000 people were laid off in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, due to the closure.
Migrant workers have protested outside the premises of dozens of companies that have shut down. They demanded unpaid wages, according to previous Chinese media reports.
The central government has required provincial human resources authorities to take active roles in offering more job information and training programs to those migrant workers while their rights, especially wages, should be protected and defended, Yin emphasized.
The ministry has also begun work to set up a job registration system for migrant workers, he added.
A rising number of college graduates are another concern for the government. About 5.59 million fresh graduates are expected to enter the job market this year with another 6.1 million next year, Zhang said.
In Shanghai, salary expectations for a collage graduate has dropped to about 2,000 yuan per month while that for postgraduates fell to 3,500 yuan from an average of 5,000 yuan in previous years, according to Shanghai Oriental Morning Post.
China's economy grew 9 percent in the three months from July to September, the slowest pace since mid-2003.
The country is struggling to fend off the effects of the worldwide economic turmoil with a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package to prop up growth in the world's fourth-largest economy.
The funds, equivalent to almost a fifth of China's gross domestic product last year, will be used by the end of 2010 to finance programs in 10 major areas, including construction of roads, railways, airports and low-rent housing.
But even before the current global crisis, the country faced a huge gap between job seekers and employment opportunities. China has about 24 million people looking for work every year but only creates 12 million new vacancies annually, Yin said.
More setbacks will appear in the first quarter of next year despite the government's efforts to contain the rate within a prescribed annual target of 4.5 percent by the end of this year, Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, told a news conference in Beijing this morning.
The job market may turn around in the second quarter but the total number of employed in the country is still expected to be lower than this year, he added.
The number of newly employed reached 10.2 million in the first 10 months of 2008, exceeding the country's projection for the entire year by 2 percent, Yin said.
About 4.5 million laid-off workers were reemployed by October, completing 90 percent of this year's target, he added.
The urban unemployment rate stood at 4 percent at the end of September, according to Yin.
But the ongoing financial crisis began to bite in October, when growth of newly employed rate started to fall to 8 percent from an average of 9 percent from January through September, the first drop in the past few years, Zhang Xiaojian, the vice minister added at the conference.
Meanwhile, the demand by companies for workers also slipped for the first time in the past couple of years. Demand dropped 5.5 percent after September.
The marginal drop in labor demand will probably continue next year amid the deteriorating economic environment and global financial crisis, Zhang said, citing a ministry survey of 84 labor markets across the country.
The employment situation is "severe and the impact is still developing," Yin told reporters. "This situation can create labor relations problems. Stabilizing employment is the top priority for us right now."
An overview of the country's job market may be even grimmer. The urban jobless rate doesn't include unemployment among the 120 million migrant workers who have left their hometowns in search of work because their mobility makes it difficult to keep track of them, Yin said.
The government is paying close attention as more migrant workers are starting to go home after small and medium-sized companies in labor-intensive industries such as textiles and garment manufacturing have halted production or shut down due to slumping export orders, Yin said.
In Jiangxi Province alone, about 300,000 migrant workers have already returned to their hometowns, Yin said.
Smart Union Group (Holdings) Ltd, a toy maker that supplies Mattel Inc and Hasbro Inc, shut last month. About 7,000 people were laid off in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, due to the closure.
Migrant workers have protested outside the premises of dozens of companies that have shut down. They demanded unpaid wages, according to previous Chinese media reports.
The central government has required provincial human resources authorities to take active roles in offering more job information and training programs to those migrant workers while their rights, especially wages, should be protected and defended, Yin emphasized.
The ministry has also begun work to set up a job registration system for migrant workers, he added.
A rising number of college graduates are another concern for the government. About 5.59 million fresh graduates are expected to enter the job market this year with another 6.1 million next year, Zhang said.
In Shanghai, salary expectations for a collage graduate has dropped to about 2,000 yuan per month while that for postgraduates fell to 3,500 yuan from an average of 5,000 yuan in previous years, according to Shanghai Oriental Morning Post.
China's economy grew 9 percent in the three months from July to September, the slowest pace since mid-2003.
The country is struggling to fend off the effects of the worldwide economic turmoil with a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package to prop up growth in the world's fourth-largest economy.
The funds, equivalent to almost a fifth of China's gross domestic product last year, will be used by the end of 2010 to finance programs in 10 major areas, including construction of roads, railways, airports and low-rent housing.
But even before the current global crisis, the country faced a huge gap between job seekers and employment opportunities. China has about 24 million people looking for work every year but only creates 12 million new vacancies annually, Yin said.
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