Worsening financial crisis affects job market

China's human resources authorities say the worsening global financial conditions have begun to weigh on the country's job market. That's the message released at a press conference on Thursday. But officials denied rumors that there have been massive cuts in employees

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the employment situation for 2008 as a whole, is stable. Yin Weimin noted that one of the ministry's top concerns is the ripple effect of the global economic malaise. It has forced increasing numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises to close and caused job losses, especially after October. He said the government is taking measures to maintain employment stability.

In the first ten months, the number of new employees totaled 10.2 million, slightly more than the full-year target of 10 million. And the urban unemployment rate was 4 percent, below the government's target of about 4.5 percent for the whole year. However, the future picture might be gloomier than the current statistics indicate.