16-20

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.

How many people will be looking for jobs this year