2003-2004: China Employment Report

Author: Organized by the Institute of Labor Science, Ministry of Labor and Social Security
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: The achievement of the employment target in 2003 was inseparable from China's economic growth and the implementation of active employment policies. The economy overcame the impact of SARS and reached a growth rate of 9.1%, laying a solid foundation for increasing employment opportunities. Active employment policies were fully implemented, and in mid-August, the Central Committee and the State Council held a symposium on re-employment for laid-off workers, further broadening the policy space for re-employment, ensuring the expansion of re-employment for the disadvantaged groups and achieving the annual employment control target.
The employment situation in 2004 remained grim. On one hand, efforts must be concentrated on launching a decisive battle to solve the employment and social security issues for the "current generation" of laid-off workers from state-owned and collective enterprises. On the other hand, challenges include the rise in long-term unemployed individuals, the prominent issue of youth employment (such as college graduates), expanding employment channels for rural labor, providing high-quality employment services for them, and creating an equal employment environment.
The urban unemployment rate in 2004 may increase, primarily due to the following factors:
1. The current period is a peak of natural labor supply. China is experiencing another peak in the growth of natural labor supply, with an increasing supply of new labor. In 2004, the annual increase in urban labor supply is 15 million people. In a sense, the decline in the initial employment rate of college graduates reflects the peak of new labor supply.
2. Laid-off workers transitioning from centers to unemployed individuals. At the end of 2003, there were still 2.6 million laid-off workers remaining in centers, and they will gradually leave in the future. Some of these laid-off workers who fail to find re-employment will become unemployed. This group faces greater difficulties in re-employment and may face long-term unemployment issues. Some laid-off workers who did not enter centers will also gradually sever their labor relations with enterprises and become unemployed.
3. Structural adjustment factors. As the deadline for some commitments made by the Chinese government after joining the WTO approaches, enterprises will face fiercer competition in the international market, making further adjustment of industrial and product structures increasingly urgent. This will inevitably lead to employment structural adjustments.
Although the employment situation in 2004 is severe, there are also favorable factors:
1. It is expected that China's economy will continue to maintain a rapid growth momentum, providing a foundation for increasing employment opportunities and adjusting the employment structure.
2. Governments at all levels attach great importance to employment issues, placing employment work in a more prominent position in government priorities. Active employment policies are further implemented, ensuring the expansion of employment.
3. Greater emphasis is placed on vocational training and labor market development, with employment services continuously improving.
4. Policies to promote youth employment, especially for college graduates, are becoming more explicit, and institutional barriers are gradually being broken, creating conditions for promoting employment.
Currently, it is necessary to maintain economic growth, adjust the economic structure, and form a virtuous cycle of economic development and employment expansion, fully utilizing labor resources. Further clarification of the government's role in employment work is needed, along with continuous improvement of the entrepreneurship and employment environment to actively promote employment. Strengthening labor market development is essential to enhance the targeted and effective nature of employment services, advancing the professionalization, institutionalization, and socialization of employment services. Additionally, foundational work must be strengthened to continuously improve employment policies.