China’s Cabinet issues guidelines to promote employment amid economic woes

BEIJING – China’s Cabinet on Sept 25 issued guidelines on promoting high quality and sufficient employment, pledging to prioritise employment during socio-economic development and improve reasonable growth in pay, state media reported.

The guidelines came as some workers suffer steep pay cuts and the youth jobless rate rose to its highest level since the authorities revised statistic methodology, creating a headache for policymakers as they try to spur economic growth.

The guidelines, following the central bank’s aggressive stimulus package unveiled on Sept 24, said the country will promote the coordination of fiscal, monetary and industrial policies to step up employment as a driving force for development.

China will aim to “prevent the risk of large-scale unemployment and take it as a bottom line” and “improve workers’ job stability and reasonable income”, state news agency Xinhua said. 

The country will reasonably allocate employment subsidies and make effective use of unemployment insurance funds and various industrial funds to promote employment, Xinhua added.

China has created 8.26 million jobs in the first seven months, or 68.8 per cent of the annual job creation goal.

The broader-than-expected measures on Sept 24 marks the latest attempt by policymakers to restore confidence in the world’s second-largest economy after a slew of disappointing data raised concerns of a prolonged structural slowdown. Investors and economists are looking for more policy support on the fiscal side. REUTERS