State Council to encourage job creation

China’s State Council said it would activitely support the creation of private sector companies to create more jobs and combat the country’s severe unemployment situation, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to a statement released by the State Council, efforts will be made to reduce the financial burdens on private and small companies as well as those in the service sector and in labor-intensive industries. It did not elaborate. China’s most recent urban registered unemployment rate, issued in March, stood at 4.3%, up from 4.2% in December. The State Council also restated that China had not reached the bottom of the economic downturn and that the foundation for recovery was not yet solid.