China to take proactive employment policies

BEIJING - China will take proactive employment policies from now to 2020 to create more jobs and support economic growth, the country's cabinet, the State Council said Wednesday.

Employment is the top concern for livelihood and the fundamental support for economic growth, said a statement released after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, which passed the 13th Five-Year Plan for promoting employment.

The government will offer more jobs by developing sectors such as advanced manufacturing, modern logistics, healthcare and elderly care and encourage labor-intensive companies to move to central and western regions and the northeastern area where jobs are needed, the statement said.

China will also continue to promote entrepreneurship to create more jobs, especially businesses related with the sharing economy.

The government will reduce barriers to market entry and offer more supportive policies to encourage technical talents and migrant workers to set up their own businesses, the statement said.

For those who have difficulty finding jobs, the government will offer public welfare positions and other support; for those laid off by overcapacity cut drive, more training will be taken to help them find new jobs.

China also encourages enterprises to be more active in creating employment-facilitating information platforms and taking more professional training to help improve the efficiency and quality of the human resource market, according to the statement.