Li: Keeping employment stable is key

China is ready to take robust and multipronged measures, such as scaling up support for flexible employment and boosting job opportunities for people with disabilities, to ensure that employment remains stable.

A host of steps were decided upon at the State Council's executive meeting on Wednesday chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

"We will face even greater risks and challenges ahead next year, and must give higher priority to keeping employment stable as this is key in ensuring that our economy does not slide out of a proper range," Li said.

Meeting attendees called on local governments across the country to focus on stabilizing employment, issuing new policies in support of newly created jobs and swiftly repealing existing regulations that hinder such employment. More efforts will be rolled out to promote innovation and business startups. Collateral funding application requirements from small and microbusinesses, as well as startups, will be eased.

The government will also redouble efforts to support businesses and stabilize current job positions. The current policies of lowering the premiums of unemployment insurance and workplace injury compensation insurance and partial reimbursement of unemployment insurance contributions for employers who keep their payrolls, and subsidies for in-job vocational training will continue for another year.

"Multipronged measures are needed in creating new jobs, stabilizing current jobs and stepping up the issuance of policies that encourage job creation. This year, through our efforts in transforming government functions, an average of nearly 20,000 businesses are newly registered every day. This greatly helps ease pressure in the job market," Li said.

The meeting required that the vocational skills-enhancement program be fully implemented and vocational training for essential skills be enhanced. The employment safety net will be strengthened to help the unemployed living in difficulty meet essential needs.

"Employment is essential to people's well-being. It is the wellspring of wealth and the foundation of social stability. Nothing big will go wrong next year if we keep employment stable," he said.

The Disabled Persons' Employment Security Fund will be better leveraged to boost employment for disabled people.

Meeting attendees also adopted a new regulation to ensure wages for migrant workers to resolve the problem of wage arrears they often face. Wages of such workers must be paid in full and on time. A blacklist of employers who delay paying migrant workers will be set up.

"We must ensure that the essential needs of unemployed people are met, and fully protect the rights of people with disabilities and migrant workers," Li urged.