Only about half of China’s 24 million job-seekers will be able to find employment this year, AP reported citing state media. The China Daily quoted Yin Weimin, China’s minister of human resources and social security as saying the gap between the supply and demand for jobs will become wider this year, "due to the failure to create enough job opportunities." While Beijing’s US$586 billion economic stimulus package has resulted in 7.9% growth last quarter from a year earlier, it still has not been sufficient to create enough jobs. Approximately 30 million workers lost their jobs when factories closed due to reduced demand for exports because of the global economic crisis. Beijing is confident it can keep unemployment below 4.5%, though it remains a sensitive issue for the government, which is committed to delivering economic growth and is concerned about unrest among the unemployed. Unemployment was reported at 4.3% in the first two quarters, but that rate focuses mostly on large and state-owned companies.
Categories