China to further boost employment

China will release a slew of measures to stimulate employment as demand is rising in the job market, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping said Saturday.

There is strong demand for talent in fields such as artificial intelligence and big data, Wang told journalists on the sidelines of the ongoing national legislative session, adding that demand is also on the rise in sectors including health care, accommodation, catering and cultural tourism.

Such demand proves that China's economy is picking up momentum, and reflects the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the accelerated development of new quality productive forces, according to the minister.

"Judging from this trend, the Chinese economy's long-term sound fundamentals remain unchanged, and the high-quality development has solid support," Wang said.

Wang said the country will release stimulative measures to stabilize the job market and improve people's livelihoods, such as continuing preferential social insurance policies and financial support, and broadening employment channels by supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The measures also include optimizing employment services and ensuring the employment of major groups. Supportive measures will be taken for major groups of job-seekers, such as nearly 11.79 million college graduates this year, ex-servicemen, migrant workers and people with disabilities.

"The cultivation of skilled personnel is an important way to promote the development and utilization of human resources," she said.

More efforts will be made to meet the needs of emerging and future-oriented industries, she noted.

China's employment maintained continuous improvement and overall stability in 2023. A total of 12.44 million new urban jobs were created and the surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent, which met the set targets and played a positive role in improving people's well-being and stabilizing social expectations.

"Looking forward, there are many favorable conditions for doing a good job on employment. We are confident in maintaining the steady trend of employment," the minister said.