NBS: Job market figures show stable performance

Employment is undergoing stable growth with new job creation targets this year having been met ahead of schedule, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

As of the end of November, the nation registered continuous and stable growth in employment with about 12.79 million new urban jobs created so far this year-outperforming the target of 11 million set in March, the bureau said.

The unemployment rate is within a reasonable range, the NBS said in a news release.

Based on an NBS survey conducted in November, the national unemployment rate that month stood at 5.1 percent, and among people ages 25 to 59 years old, the rate was 4.6 percent, roughly unchanged from October.

The surveyed unemployment rate in 31 cities-including Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province-was also stable in November at 5.1 percent, on par with that in previous months.

"The nation is undergoing economic restructuring, which may pose challenges and put pressure on the current job market. But the employment situation does have a promising future as the government is fully prepared to handle such pressure," said Chen Lixiang, vice-dean of Peking University's China Institute for Occupation Research.

In March, the government elevated its "employment-first policy" to a macro policy, together with fiscal and monetary policies, thus showing the concern over the domestic job market among officials.

A series of campaigns were also implemented to help key groups-including college graduates, demobilized military personnel, laid-off workers and migrant workers-find gainful employment.

For example, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security launched a job fair in Hefei, Anhui province, on Nov 23 to offer job information and human resources services to college students. About 500 enterprises, research institutes and schools joined the fair.

It's part of a ministry campaign, from Nov 23 to Dec 6, to help college graduates find jobs.

Zhang Ying, the ministry's director of employment promotion, said at a news conference in October that the employment-first policy remains a priority amid current job-market pressure.

Zhang said the ministry will continue to encourage entrepreneurship among college students and laid-off workers, as well as migrant workers, by giving them preferential policies. More skills training courses will also be available to these key groups.