Job seekers check recruitment information at a job fair held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province. (Photo by Shi Jianxue/For China Daily)
China continued to see a stable job market in the first quarter this year, with a low unemployment rate, strong demand in the job market, and improved job prospects for certain groups of people, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
More than 3.3 million new urban jobs were created in the first quarter of the year, among which 1.54 million were created in March with a year-on-year growth of 80,000, an article by the commission's employment and revenue allocation department said.
The registered urban unemployment rate decreased 0.08 percentage points to 3.89 percent by the end of Q1, a record low since 2012. In March, the urban surveyed unemployment rates nationwide and in 31 major cities were 5.06 percent and 4.88 percent, with year-on-year decrease of 0.06 and 0.07 percentage points respectively.
From January to March, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.0 percent, 5.0 percent and 5.1 percent respectively, down 0.2 percentage points, 0.4 percentage points and 0.1 percentage points from the same month last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Meanwhile, China's job market witnessed strong demand, with an over 10 percent year-on-year increase of enterprise employment demand in February and over 90 percent of people returning to work after Spring Festival, the article said, citing a survey by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
In addition, employment prospects for college graduates remained stable this year, with nationwide contract signing rates for college graduates keeping at the same level by April 1, compared to the same period last year.
During this period, the contract signing rates for colleague graduates in 13 provinces saw year-on-year increases, with an over 5 percentage point growth in Southwest China's Guizhou province, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region and South China's Guangdong province.
With sound foundations and great potential, China's economy is expected to promote high-quality development and full employment at a higher level, the article said.
The Chinese government will further implement the employment priority strategy and a more proactive employment policy to help people feel more satisfied, happier and more secure.
Economic focus will be on increasing job creation ability by implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development plan and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
China will stimulate the launch of businesses and innovate with deepened reforms to streamline administration, delegate powers and improve regulations and services.
The country will accelerate the speed of establishing a professional skills training system for working staff members' lifelong education and promote new models, such as Internet Plus professional training.
China will also provide more support to poverty-stricken people, especially those with physical challenges, and make sure at least one person is employed in all current zero-employment families.
The country will also improve the public employment service systems in rural and urban China, avoiding systematic restrictions by establishing a uniformed public employment and entrepreneurship service platform, implementing human resource service development plans, monitoring human resource markets and eliminating employment discrimination.
