At a Monday morning press conference, members of organizations
under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security discussed the newly
released government white paper, China's Employment Situation
and Policies.
Mo Rong, vice chairman of the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security's Labor Science Institute, said that 70 percent of young
people are registered job seekers. This adds fuel to the flames of
unemployment at a time when China is still coping with the problem
of laid-off workers.
"This never happened before 2000. The labor market is under
unprecedented pressure," said Mo. But, he reported, the State
Council has promulgated some policies to help solve the problem,
especially for college graduates.
Mo said the unemployment issue is a complex one. China is a
country with a large population and abundant labor resources, but
the average quality of those resources is low. As a developing
country, China has difficulty providing jobs for all its workers,
and while reform and restructuring may create new jobs they also
create layoffs in some industries. Moreover, as the country
continues to transform from a primarily agricultural society to an
industrial one, increasing numbers of migrant workers will move to
the cities to seek work.
Yu Faming, director of the Employment and Job Training
Department under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security,
explained why there is an apparent discrepancy between official
unemployment statistics and people's perceptions.
He used 2003 as an example. Some 8 million people had registered
as unemployed at the end of the year, bringing the registered urban
unemployment rate to 4.3 percent. Many people felt the rate must be
higher.
However, the 4.3 percent figure refers to that of unemployed
urban residents who officially register their unemployment, and
excludes laid-off workers from state and collective enterprises.
These people are still connected to their enterprises, which
guarantee their basic living standard.
In addition, the huge number of laborers flowing into the cities
from rural areas is excluded.
Yu stated that if laid-off workers from state and collective
enterprises were included in the calculation, the registered
unemployment rate might reach 7 percent.
(China.org.cn April 26, 2004)