China government to prioritise job creation

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the government to prioritise job creation for graduates and young people, particularly in roles that utilise their skills and knowledge.

In a recent speech, Xi said China’s development faces risks and “a rise in unpredictable factors”, making stability in the economy and the job market more urgent.

Zhang Zhiwei, President of Pinpoint Asset Management, said the unemployment rate is likely to become an important policy target for the government. He said: “I think [the issue] makes it more likely the fiscal deficit will rise above 3 per cent next year.”

He attributed the current state of employment to factors such as the declining birth rate, an ageing population and the transformative impact of the digital economy.

In a separate speech to the Politburo, President Xi pledged to create high-quality jobs, which means “workers have not only employment but also stable positions, reasonable income, reliable security and occupational safety,” he said.

“Improving the job quality has become an urgent aspiration of workers.”

The unemployment rate for the 16-24 age group, excluding students, was 17.6% in September, meaning roughly one in six of this group remains jobless.

Although this was an improvement from the previous month, it still represents the second-highest monthly rate recorded this year, with 11.79 million graduates entering the country’s job market in 2024.

Among all jobless groups, Xi listed the employment of young people – especially graduates – as a “top priority”. He emphasised the development of suitable positions for them and encouraged young people to participate in small, medium and micro enterprises, as well as seek employment at the grass roots and in rural areas.

Recently, China promoted the implementation of work-relief programmes by local governments in agricultural and rural infrastructure projects to boost employment, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The country’s top economic planning body said that in the first three-quarters of 2024, these programmes created 2.45 million jobs for low-income workers, a year-on-year increase of 30.2%, and distributed 31 billion yuan ($4.35 billion) in wages, up 22.7% from a year earlier,.

These work-relief programmes are aimed at people in need of employment, especially rural residents who have been lifted out of poverty, vulnerable individuals prone to returning to poverty, and migrant workers who have gone back to their hometowns.

The commission will continue to give full play to the role of these programmes in creating jobs for low-income workers and increasing their incomes, the NDRC said.

New urban jobs

Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said it will further improve its employment-first policy and help key population groups secure jobs in a quest to meet its annual job creation target.

The country created 10.49 million new urban jobs during the first nine months of 2024, said ministry official Chen Yongjia at a press conference. China set itself a target of generating over 12 million urban jobs in 2024.

To achieve this target, the ministry will launch job creation campaigns in key sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, while maximizing the use of tax and fee cuts, subsidies and refunds to help businesses maintain stable employment, Chen said.

In the first nine months, the Chinese government provided than 150 billion yuan ($21.1 billion) in employment support for businesses and employees, data from the ministry showed.

This support included reduced premium rates for unemployment insurance, insurance refunds and subsidies for vocational skills training, according to the ministry.

It said it will continue to offer skills training subsidies targeting the digital and green sectors, and assist businesses in better aligning skills training with market demand. It will improve measures to boost incomes for skilled professionals.

And Chen said the ministry will provide special assistance for unemployed graduates, and encourage employers to offer them internship opportunities to ensure overall employment stability among the youth, the official added.

He also underscored the importance of improving services for jobseekers, calling for efforts to organize job fairs, better match supply with demand, and create a supportive environment for entrepreneurship.