China created 11.86 million new jobs in 2020

Zhang Ying, director of the employment promotion department of the ministry of human resources and social security, said job creation in the country grew steadily last year, with a drop in the unemployment rate. Key sectors in the country’s economy maintained growth in their employment figures. 

A total of 11.86 million new jobs were created, higher than the initial target of 9 million.  In the country’s urban areas, the unemployment rate fell from the all-time high of 6.2% in February to 5.2% in December, remaining unchanged from the same period last year, according to official data. 

In terms of social security, 999 million people hold basic endowment insurance, 217 million have unemployment insurance and 268 million have employment injury insurance, according to the ministry. A total of 1.335 billion people have social security cards. 

Meanwhile, through developing industries and job creation, over 90% of 90 million registered lower-income households benefited from poverty alleviation.  

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By the end of December, the country had provided training programmes for more than 2.7 million low-income workers, exceeding the original target set, according to Global Times. 

Despite the rosy picture painted by official data, China’s urban unemployment rate is widely seen as unreliable because it does not reflect a net increase in jobs. For instance, an employee who is re-employed after losing a job or a worker who takes over from a retired worker, will be counted as newly employed over a certain period, said Intellasia.