Returning migrant workers and college graduates participate in a job fair in Anqing, East China's Anhui Province, on June 19, 2022. More than 120 enterprises in the city participated in the fair, offering more than 6,000 jobs in industries including biotechnology and new energy. More than 1,100 applicants accepted jobs on the spot. Photo: VCG

China's job market is expected to improve in the third quarter this year, as vacancies increased starting in June thanks to the effective control of recent flare-ups of the pandemic, according to a market report, sending a positive signal for the country's efforts to reduce unemployment.

According to the report by the China Institute for Employment Research (CIER) and Zhaopin.com, as the coronavirus resurgences were largely contained in June, the number of job vacancies increased 17.73 percent, higher than the rise in the number of job applicants, pushing the CIER index to rebound to 1.35, compared with 1.27 in the previous month.

The CIER index, a gauge of China's labor market, reflects the ratio of vacant positions divided by total applicants. That is to say, it tracks the relationship between supply and demand.

The rise of the index indicated improving jobs prospect, boosted by the rapid recovery of the national economy from the lingering impact of the pandemic in the second quarter this year, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The report said that from April to June, job applications grew faster than hiring demand, with the CIER index declining to 1.35 from 1.56 in the first quarter. In addition, the index was lower than the 2.09 recorded in the same period last year.

In the second quarter, a good number of major Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai were affected by the coronavirus flare-up, leading to a decrease of job vacancies, as those places usually provide a large number of hiring opportunities, Li noted.

Since May, as the national economy's recovery accelerated and the government's series of supportive policies had a positive effect, the employment situation has improved. 

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in May, the country's urban unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from April. Entering June, with resumption of work and production quickening pace, the jobless rate continued to fall to 5.5 percent.

"The government should continue to enhance financial support to the most affected industries like tourism and catering businesses, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, which can absorb a large number of job seekers," Li said.