China's employment stable, policy supports continue

BEIJING - China has created 11.33 million new jobs in its urban areas during the first 10 months of this year, achieving the target for the whole year in advance.

From January to October, the country's surveyed urban unemployment rate averaged 5.1 percent, said Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

China's surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in October, 0.4 percentage points lower than the same period last year, NBS data shows.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate is calculated based on the number of unemployed people who have participated in the employment survey in urban areas, including migrant workers in cities.

"The surveyed unemployment rate among those aged between 16 and 24 has dropped for three consecutive months, showing that the employment situation of young people is gradually improving," Fu said, adding that the main reason is the gradual increase in the employment of college students.

The rate among those aged between 25 and 59, the majority of the labor market, stood at 4.2 percent in October, the same level as in September.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.1 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage points from that in September.

"The policy of stabilizing employment continued, and the employment situation was generally stable," Fu noted.

The country has promised to fully deliver the tax and fee cuts already introduced and curb arbitrary charges so as to support market entities in preventing unemployment and job losses.

It also worked to strengthen the employment-first policy, and boost employment for key job-hunting groups, including college graduates, veterans and migrant workers.

China's State Council has released a plan this year on boosting employment for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), vowing to add over 55 million new urban jobs in the next five years.