Job hunters view recruitment information at an employment fair in Suzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province on Thursday – the first working day after the Spring Festival holidays. Suzhou will hold more than 100 recruitment events to help stabilize local employment. Photo: cnsphoto

China's still facing great pressure in the job market this year, and will still put employment as its policy priority, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday. In addition to promoting current job measures, more "flexible" job channels will be opened up. 

The Premier noted that other policies must be beneficial to employment. The measures introduced to stabilize the job market last year will not be reduced, but further increased, said the Premier, reiterating the central government's emphasis in improving people's livelihoods.

The remarks were made when Li met the press after the closing of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. 

The question related to jobs was also the first question the Premier answered during the press conference.

According to the 2021 Government Work Report, which was delivered by Premier Li on Friday, China is planning to create 11 million jobs in 2021, a jump from 9 million in 2020.

This year, our employment pressure is still very high, Li said, noting that there are about 14 million new urban workers entering the work force this year, including 9.09 million college graduates, a record high. 

"We also need to ensure the employment of veterans and provide 278 million migrant workers with job opportunities," said the Premier.

Li said that more "flexible" job channels - which have already covered about 200 million people in the country - will be opened up this year.

Last year, China managed to create 11.86 million new jobs, significantly higher than the 9 million target, despite extreme challenges amid the pandemic.

"We believe that through the steady recovery of economic growth, more jobs will be created, and more jobs will promote the stability and improvement of the economy," Li said.

According to the 2021 government work report, China will continue to work to keep the employment situation stable, provide adequate fiscal, tax, and financial policy support to businesses that do not cut jobs or only cut a small number of them.

The government also vowed to ensure employment for key groups such as college graduates, ex-service members, and rural migrant workers, support the development of new forms of employment and expand the scope of the use of vocational skill training funds.

Global Times