College students look for jobs at an employment fair held on the campus of the Huaibei Normal University in Huaibei, East China's Anhui Province on October 16, 2024. The job fair attracted more than 183 companies offering more than 10,000 positions. The year 2024 is expected to see 11.79 million students graduating from colleges, an increase of 210,000 from 2023. Photo: VCG
China will allocate about 66.74 billion yuan ($9.22 billion) in employment subsidies as part of efforts to support local governments in assisting businesses to create more jobs, an official of the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
The remarks were made at a press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council, the cabinet, during which officials introduced government efforts to boost consumption in 2025.
Speaking at the press conference, Fu Jinling, director-general of the Department of Economic Construction of the Ministry of Finance, said that the new subsidies will be used to help local governments implement employment and entrepreneurship support policies, coordinate relevant funds and resources, promote full employment and improve job quality.
In a further note, Fu Jinling stated that the subsidies will be used to enhance the training of skilled workers and address structural employment imbalances. The official pledged to continue efforts in improving employment opportunities for key groups, such as university graduates, and encouraging enterprises to hire more workers.
"Employment is the very foundation of people's well-being," said Chen Yongjia, an official of the employment promotion department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, at the press conference, stressing the significance of employment in the nation's social development.
To strengthen job stability through burden reduction, the government will continue implementing phased policies to lower unemployment and work-related injury insurance rates, said Chen, noting that financial institutions will also be encouraged to innovate special loans for job retention and expansion, among other measures.
In January and February, China's national average urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, roughly the same as the same period last year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
"Overall, the unemployment rate is still within the normal range of fluctuations, and the overall stability of the employment situation has not changed," said Fu Linghui, the NBS spokesperson, at a separate press conference on Monday.
Stabilizing and expanding employment this year will still require strenuous efforts, Fu Linghui said, noting that the current international environment is complex and challenging, and the foundation for the domestic economic recovery remains unstable.
Over the course of the year, there will be 12.22 million fresh college graduates, the scale of employment for the population lifted out of poverty will need to be maintained at more than 30 million, and stable employment must also be ensured for a considerable number of rural migrant workers, according to the NBS spokesperson, noting that all these factors call for solid efforts to stabilize employment.
