Photo: VCG

Employment in China remained largely stable in the first seven months of 2024, as the urban surveyed unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent, down 0.2 percentage points year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday. 

The figure for July alone was 5.2 percent, up 0.2 percentage points month-on-month but down 0.1 percentage points year-on-year. 

The surveyed unemployment rate reflected a seasonal increase, mainly due to the entry of new graduates in the market. The small yearly change indicates that the job market remains stable overall, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said.

Experts said that booming high-tech industries bolstered by digitalization, growing services activity and flexible employment patterns are the major engines driving up employment.

In the first half of 2024, the number of jobs created by the development of large language models increased by 605 percent year-on-year, and occupations requiring the application of these models grew by 325 percent year-on-year, Guo Sheng, CEO of Zhaopin.com, said in a statement sent to the Global Times earlier.

According to Guo, the high demand for AI talent boosted salaries. The average monthly salary in the AI sector in the second quarter reached 13,594 yuan ($1,900), the highest of all technology positions. Job openings for AI engineers in the vehicle sector in the second quarter grew by 21.7 percent on a yearly basis, Guo said.

The continuously developing services industry, especially tourism, catering and retailing amid a consumption recovery, has become a force for creating jobs, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.  

Wang noted that the increase in job-seekers choosing flexible employment is leading to diversification in the job market and giving workers more options and greater autonomy.

With the government's targeted policies taking effect and new job opportunities abounding, China's overall employment levels are expected to remain stable, Liu said. 

Liu noted that the pressure on employment is lingering, due to structural contradictions of supply and demand in the labor market, while some industries and key groups continue to face employment challenges.

China will continue to prioritize employment for college graduates and other young groups, making greater efforts to promote high-quality employment, Liu said.

In addition to financial support, Chinese localities are expanding their employment facilitation services, covering a wider range of activities and offering a longer timeframe for fresh graduates from pre-graduation to after graduation, 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 Thursday. 

Wang highlighted strengthening vocational skills training, promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing employment assistance for key groups as important ways to further stabilize the country's employment picture. 

A total of 6.98 million new urban jobs were created in the first half of the year, official data showed in July. China has set a target of creating more than 12 million new urban jobs in 2024, and it aims to keep the surveyed urban jobless rate at around 5.5 percent this year.