Authorities to address unemployed young people

Chinese authorities are working on solutions to improve the employment situation for young people, who have faced increasing unemployment in the past few months due to structural imbalances in the job market.

The National Bureau of Statistics released its latest figures on Tuesday, showing that the unemployment rate for young people aged 16 to 24 years old climbed to 20.4 percent in April, up 0.8 of a percentage point from the previous month, while the general surveyed unemployment rate has fallen in the past two months and stabilized at 5.2 percent in April.

NBS spokesman Fu Linghui said that the nation's job market will remain stable as the economy recovers from the impact of the pandemic, and supportive employment policies take effect.

But the nation still faces heavy employment pressure and a greater structural imbalance of the job market because of the growing number of college graduates and the high unemployment rate among young people, he said.

He said that central departments are figuring out solutions to help improve the situation and will offer tailored services and guidance to young job seekers.

Li Qiang, vice-president of recruitment portal Zhaopin, said that the young generation's increasing desire for stable jobs in government bodies or large companies, and plans of continuing education, may also be causes of their "delayed employment".

"Some graduates have postponed their employment because they are preparing for civil servant or postgraduate entrance examinations (which are usually held in the third or fourth quarter of the year), and others are yet to land jobs because they haven't found satisfactory offers or are unwilling to lower their expectations," he said.

He added that the structural imbalance of the job market may also be a reason for the high unemployment rate among young people. "Many industries and private companies including those in education, the internet, information technology and real estate — which used to be the main employers of college graduates — are adjusting their recruitment plans due to industrial restructuring.

"Overall, we can see the job market is in recovery because of the reviving economy in the post-epidemic era, but the structural imbalance remains a problem, so it's necessary for young job seekers to be well-prepared and to view their future career rationally," he said.

A key group among the young workforce, college graduates — whose number is expected to grow to 11.58 million this year — have attracted much attention and assistance from government and society.

The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China launched an employment promotion campaign in the northeastern province of Jilin on Saturday, aimed at helping college students, fresh college graduates and those who graduated last year find job opportunities.

Over 60,000 vacancies and 2,000 internships from 1,100-plus employers will be available until the end of the month.

Meng Wei, spokeswoman for the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday that developing the economy is fundamental in relieving employment problems, and it's necessary to support companies, which are major employers, by optimizing tax policies and services.

She said that developing the manufacturing industry and incubating new industries will help create more job opportunities, and it's important to improve the financial, industrial and entrepreneurship environment in counties and the countryside to make these areas more attractive to job seekers.

chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn