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About 10 million urban residents will
have difficulty finding jobs by 2010 due to pressure from the growing
labour force, according to a
new report.
In a 2006-10 development outline published late Wednesday, the Ministry
of Labour and Social Security said China, as the world's most populous
country, will continue to be troubled by unemployment in future years.
China's labour supply is expected to top 830 million by 2010. In urban
areas, an additional 50 million city residents will join the labour force
by 2010, but only 40 million jobs will be created during this period.
The ministry will try to keep the country's
registered urban unemployment rate below 5 per cent
between 2006 and 2010 by creating job opportunities for an additional 45
million people, the report said.
The jobless rate was 4.2 per cent at the end of 2005.
Millions of other jobs will also have to be created to accommodate an
additional 45 million rural migrant workers who have been encouraged to
leave rural areas to reduce the labour surplus in the countryside, the
outline said.
The current number of migrant workers is estimated at 150 million, or
11.5 per cent of the population, nearly double that of 10 years ago.
The ministry announced late last month that 9.32 million urban Chinese
had found jobs in the first nine months of the year, exceeding the target
of 9 million for the entire year.
Most of the employment pressure comes from laid-off workers from State
or collectively-owned businesses, an increasing number of university
graduates, rural labour transfer and farmers who lost their land due to
industrial development or urbanization.
According to the outline, the government will continue to encourage and
support the private sector and boost the development of labour-intensive
industries, service industries and small and medium-sized businesses.
(China Daily) | 
