China's commitment to bolstering employment

BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Job creation and the establishment of a secure employment framework have been highlighted in this year's government work report, which was unveiled during the ongoing "two sessions."

China's top economic priority in 2022 is stability. Economic growth and a stable labor market are inextricably linked, as job creation and income generation stimulate development. A country's economy expands as a result of a favorable combination of employment and productivity growth.

Thus, continuing the objective of ensuring stability, China has pledged to strengthen its employment-first policy in this year's government work report.

China has always attached great importance to employment generation, with more than 11 million jobs created each year over the past decade. A total of 12.69 million urban jobs were added last year, and the average surveyed unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent.

Attaining such an incredible feat is nothing short of a miracle, thanks to the country's proactive job-creation measures.

When it comes to boosting employment generation through policy support, China takes a distinctive approach. Along with tax cuts, special low-interest loans, and incentives for businesses that hire recent graduates, career counseling and vocational training are also available to assist job seekers.

Promoting employment, however, is an arduous task, which the country is well aware of. China is expected to see 10.76 million new graduates from its universities and colleges in 2022, further intensifying the job hunting competition.

Besides, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the global job market, particularly in developing countries. Even after two years, the outlook for this industry remains bleak, as huge layoffs, shuttering of private companies, and a dwindling job market continue to deteriorate into a full-blown crisis.

Despite these headwinds, China expects to create over 11 million new urban employment this year. It intends to achieve this goal by widening employment channels, fostering employment stability by keeping the operations of market entities stable, and harnessing the role of business startups in boosting employment.

Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises will be the primary beneficiaries of the government's favourable policies, as this sector is widely regarded as the backbone of developing countries and play a significant role in job creation.

China will resolutely act to overhaul or abolish excessive restrictions on employment and business startups, stated the government work report, noting that the surveyed unemployment rate is expected to be no higher than 5.5 percent this year.

Earlier this year, China unveiled new guidelines to ease pressures on foreign trade companies and keep the country's exports and imports stable. The guidelines included fiscal and financial support for foreign trade companies as well as incentives for new forms of businesses in foreign trade.

China will continue to deliver institutional tax and fee cuts, including extra tax deduction on research and development expenses and refund of overpaid value-added tax, to increase the share of total research and development spending in GDP, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had said during a virtual dialogue with business leaders of the Global CEO Council.

A total of 100 billion yuan (about 15.75 billion U.S. dollars) from the unemployment insurance fund will be used to support enterprises in maintaining stable payrolls and providing training programs, and training of skilled workers who are urgently needed to promote high-quality development of manufacturing will be accelerated, according to the work report. These efforts are expected to enable more workers to acquire marketable skills and large numbers of talented people to come to the fore in all sectors.

Notably, as a result of China's rapid economic expansion, numerous new jobs are being created in a range of emerging industries.

According to Zhaopin.com, the country's leading human resources service provider, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has sparked interest in opportunities in the sports industry among job seekers. The country's burgeoning snow and sports sector is projected to attract talent in the field of sports services such as equipment sales, and sporting event and training.

Infrastructure investment can make a significant contribution to job creation, and thus, China plans to invest in "new infrastructure" to spur employment, which include the fields of 5G, ultra-high-voltage power facilities, inter-city transport, new energy vehicle charging stations, big data centers, artificial intelligence and industrial internet.

Investment in the area is expected to exceed 10 trillion yuan by 2025, while total investment in related industries is estimated to exceed 17 trillion yuan by the same year. According to China's Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security, it is estimated that 9 million specialists would be needed to serve in the field of intelligent manufacturing.

In the face of numerous challenges in the global job market, China remains upbeat about the employment market owing to streamlined policy approach and effective governance.

As job seekers enter the employment world, the coming days will certainly herald bright prospects and plentiful opportunities.