China's efforts to stabilize employment pay off
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China's employment policies in the wake of the global financial crisis have so far generated positive results, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said Thursday when delivering a report to the country's top legislature.
The country has created more than 10 million new jobs in urban areas in the first 11 months this year, well above the target of 9 million by the end of 2009 set in March, Yin said in the report submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC).
The urban unemployment rate stood at 4.3 percent by the end of September, remaining unchanged from the first two quarters.
In 2008, China's urban unemployment rate was 4.2 percent.
In order to reduce impact of the global financial crisis upon China's employment, the country has taken a series of measures to help people find jobs, Yin said.
The country has supported the development of labor-intensive industries, and issued a number of favorable policies, including tax reduction and social security subsidies, to encourage enterprises to recruit more employees and refrain from laying off their workers.
It has also encouraged people to start their own businesses, and provided vocational training for migrant and laid-off workers, and other people in need, Yin said.
The country has put jobless college graduates on top of its agenda when addressing employment issues, and has taken active measures to help migrant and laid-off workers and those with difficulties to find jobs, he said.
By the end of October, of all the 1.8 million college graduates who had been registered as unemployed across the country, 9.3 million have already found jobs, Yin said.
He pledged to continue to expand and stabilize employment despite the financial crisis.
The NPC Standing Committee, led by its chairman Wu Bangguo, heard Yin's report at its bi-monthly session, which began Tuesday morning to discuss draft amendments to laws on renewable energy, national defense mobilization and elections.
It also heard for the first time a draft revision of the Organic Law of Villagers' Committees for the expansion of rural democracy, and began reviewing draft laws on tort liability, island protection and social insurance.
