State Council will boost job creation

The government will take concrete measures to boost and expand employment, focusing on college graduates, veterans and laid-off and relocated workers, as was decided on Wednesday at the State Council's executive meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

"Maintaining steady employment is of primary importance for China's economic development and is the foremost livelihood issue," Li said, "With the economy looking up in recent years, employment has expanded steadily. Nevertheless, employment must stay high on the government's agenda to see steady creation of new jobs and improvement in the employment structure."

New urban employment has been running at a high level in recent years. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 6.13 million urban jobs were added between January and May, an increase of 140,000 from a year earlier and setting a record.