Zheng Silin, minister of labor and social security, declared
that the Chinese government will cut back the registered urban
unemployment rate to 4.7 percent next year, up by 0.2 percent on
this year.
From 1999 to 2000, the urban unemployment rate stayed at 3.1
percent, but reached 3.6 percent in 2001 and 4 percent 2002.
Earlier this year, the Chinese government planned to control that
number to under 4.5 percent.
Zheng said at a national working conference on labor and social
security that the pre-set goal of 2003, which aimed to create 8
million jobs and reemploy 4 million people, has been
accomplished.
But the situation remains severe, he said, especially in
reemployment and social security. And in order to balance labor
relations and maintain the legal rights of laborers, more should be
done next year.
As for the work of 2004, the government plans to create 9
million jobs, and help 5 million laid-off workers be reemployed,
among whom, 1 million have currently great difficulty in surviving
without work. The registered urban unemployment rate will be
controlled at less than 4.7 percent.
In order to curb the unemployment rate and achieve this new
goal, it is necessary to focus on generating new posts, and match
employment initiatives with economic development. As for
reemployment, the government will tackle various difficulties and
implement a reemployment policy in a down-to-earth way and the work
will be more specialized, professional and socialized. There will
be greater investment in work and more efficient use of spending on
work, Zheng said.
Some experts expressed that, on the one hand, the restructuring
of state-owned enterprises may unavoidably produce unemployment,
and on the other, a long-term labor surplus doomed by existing
conditions in modern China. Therefore, employment pressure can
hardly be alleviated in such a short period and will inevitably be
a great challenge to the Chinese government.
(China.org.cn by Li Liangdu and Daragh Moller, December 26,
2003)