China’s employment and re-employment
situation remains tough with a surge this year in the number of graduates
hitting the job market and in unemployment in general, a senior official
said. The country’s registered average unemployment rate in
urban areas reached 4 per cent last year and is expected to go higher this year,
Labour and Social Security Minister Zheng Silin told Xinhua yesterday.
There are nearly 14 million laid-off workers in urban areas so far. And
more than 10 million new graduates are predicted to enter the work force Zheng
said. To make things worse, about 150 million rural workers
will head to the cities to seek employment, he said. Zheng, who
was appointed as the minister during the first session of the 10th National
People’s Congress in March, has urged his departments nationwide to do more to
assist laid-off workers to restart their lives. |