Jobless rate ‘stable’ due to 3.2m new openings
Print Edition
CHINA’S registered unemployment rate in urban areas was 4.04 percent at the end of the first quarter, virtually unchanged from 4.05 percent at the end of last year, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said yesterday.
Almost 3.2 million urban jobs were created in the period, ministry spokesperson Li Zhong told a press conference.
“The data indicate that China’s job market remains stable,” he said.
China’s economy continued to slow in the first three months of the year, with GDP rising just 6.7 percent year on year to 15.9 trillion yuan (US$2.4 trillion), though the gain was in line with market expectations and government targets.
“As the economy is under increasing downward pressure and structural reform is deepening, the employment situation is a hard-earned result,” said Li Chang’an, a professor with the University of International Business and Economics.
Creating new jobs is a major challenge for the government as millions of workers are facing redundancy due to mergers and industrial restructuring.
The government said it plans to create 10 million new urban jobs this year to keep the registered urban unemployment rate below 4.5 percent. It has already carried out several policies to keep employment stable, Li said.
Local authorities have been told to prioritize workers’ rights and take steps to find alternative employment for those laid off as millions of tons of steel and coal overcapacity are phased out, he said.
To cushion the effect of job losses, the government will allocate 100 billion yuan to help people find new jobs, Premier Li Keqiang said earlier.
Meanwhile, the value of China’s social insurance funds rose 14.7 percent year on year in the first quarter to 1.2 trillion yuan, while gross spending rose 12.8 percent to 967.7 billion yuan.
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