China continues to create jobs, pledges continued enhancement

Candidates look at employment opportunities at a job fair in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. (Liu Jianhua/China Daily)

China created 3.03 million new urban jobs in the first quarter of the year, completing its corresponding target set in this year's government work report, said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Tuesday.

The national urban surveyed unemployment rate stood at 5.2 percent last month, reflecting overall stability in the employment market, the ministry said.

The ministry proposed to enhance the employment promotion mechanism; expedite the development of a high-quality, full-employment work system; launch initiatives to boost employment in advanced manufacturing; and hasten the research and implementation of new unemployment insurance policies to aid enterprises in preserving jobs, said Chen Feng, spokesperson for the ministry.

Chen said the ministry will facilitate the employment of key groups. This involves issuing policies to aid college graduates and other young people in finding jobs; strengthening targeted support for graduates from low-income families; and introducing community-level posts in education, agriculture, health care and poverty relief.

The ministry plans to intensify vocational skills training to meet the talent demands in advanced manufacturing, modern services, elderly care and other fields, he said.

More precise employment services will be carried out, such as specialized job fairs for private enterprises and online job recruitment, he added.

According to this year's government work report, the main targets for development this year are projected as over 12 million new urban jobs with surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent.