Big data offers targeted employment services for migrant workers

GUIYANG, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- After wrapping up the Lantern Festival, Luo Wenyi jumped on a free charter bus arranged by his hometown government, heading for east China's manufacturing hub of Zhejiang Province where he would start a career as a carpenter.

This year, residents like Luo in Bijie, the most populous city in southwest China's mountainous Guizhou Province, are finding a new tool helpful in their job search -- big data.

Luo, 33, is one of China's 296 million rural migrant workers, who usually return for family reunions during the Spring Festival holiday and leave again for work after the break.

Upon returning to his hometown, Luo logged his status as "unemployed" on the workforce analytics platform of Bijie, which was launched by the municipal government in April 2022 with the aim of helping job seekers and employers find each other.

The platform can dynamically analyze labor-related industries, existing worker numbers and salaries, and assist in intelligent decision-making for local governments after studying the specific needs of the key populations.

Soon, the subdistrict office notified Luo of several special job fairs organized by Zhijin County where he lives. After carefully considering the jobs on offer, he found one at a Zhejiang-based construction company.

"I can make 5,000 yuan (about 728 U.S. dollars) per month now, and the company also provides meals and accommodation. I'm grateful to the government for establishing the platform to help me find a job," Luo said.

Luo is among many migrant workers in Bijie who have benefited from the big data platform. The information is usually collected by local cadres through door-to-door visits and phone calls or is provided by would-be employees themselves.

Currently, the platform has collected information from more than 6 million laborers aged between 16 and 60 years across the city, according to Wang Lingren, an official of Bijie's employment bureau.

Walking into the city's employment bureau, visitors can see a big screen displaying the number of migrant workers returning to Bijie during the holiday, how many have returned to their posts, and other information, such as the employment situation of rural labor forces that have been lifted out of poverty.

Yang Xiong, a resident of Linquan Community who was lifted out of poverty through relocation projects, failed to land a job last year.

The turnaround came when local cadres at the township and village levels were "alerted" by the big data platform. He was recommended for a job at a shoe factory in Zhejiang and now earns around 4,000 yuan a month.

"The big data platform, through real-time intelligent statistical analysis, can help grassroots departments to offer employment services in a better and more efficient manner," said Chen Huan, head of Bijie's employment bureau.

Chen said the city will integrate more functions, including labor rights protection, to further promote human resources development and applications of information technology in employment services.

As the country's first national big data comprehensive pilot zone, Guizhou Province has been promoting the big data industry as a mainstay of its high-quality social and economic development.

It will invest 20 billion yuan in big data-related projects in 2023.