China sets sights on stabilising and expanding job market in 2021

Creating sufficient jobs for fresh graduates, migrant workers and the poor will be a priority for the Chinese government in 2021, said its labour ministry.

“It is very important to ensure a stable job market in such a special year like 2021,” according to the conclusions of a national employment conference organised by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, reported the South China Morning Post. 

“We must set our sights on a fuller and higher-quality employment target … using every means to stabilise and expand job markets,” the ministry wrote on its website. 

Among the groups identified to receive further government support include university graduates, rural migrant workers and poor urban families. 

The ministry also added that the government should turn the temporary support doled out to citizens to cushion the blow of the pandemic into long-term policies over the next five years. 

The nation’s surveyed unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in November, from 5.3% in October. Currently, it is a full percentage point below the peak of 6.2% in February, when businesses were most severely disrupted by the pandemic.

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From January to November, the government created 11 million new urban jobs, which surpasses its full-year target of 9 million, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.