CRI听力: Officials: China's Employment-Boosting Measures Bearing Fruit

Senior Chinese labor officials say China's efforts to boost employment have greatly assisted migrant workers and college graduates in seeking employment. Statistics show nearly six million people in urban areas found jobs in the first half of the year. However, officials say the employment situation in China is still grave.

Xiao Hong has the details.

Reporter:

China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced on Tuesday that the country's urban registered unemployment rate over the past two quarters stood at 4.3 percent. Officials say the figure is moderate when compared with some developed countries amid the economic crisis.(www.hXen.com)

Hu Xiaoyi, the ministry's vice chief, says China has realized the relatively low jobless rate because of a series of employment-boosting measures.

"We have put assisting employment of college graduates at the top of the agenda. Meanwhile, we have delivered job training to redundant migrant workers to help them become re-employed. Moreover, we have implemented preferential polices to help jobless citizens start their own businesses."

The official revealed that these measures have helped 5.7 million people gain employment in urban areas during the first six months of the year.

Meanwhile, more than four million college graduates found jobs as of July 1st. The proportion comprises nearly 70 percent of the total number of more than six million college graduates this year.

But labor officials still warn of a difficult task in boosting employment in the second half of the year.

Wang Yadong is vice director of the department aimed at boosting employment under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

"China's current employment situation is still grave and the pressure to create jobs remains huge. To make matters worse, the impact of the international financial crisis has not yet bottomed out and a lot of companies are still facing difficulties. This poses big risks to unemployment numbers."

The official says more than four million migrant workers have yet to find a job. And three million college graduates, including those who left school last year, are still unemployed.

To deal with the challenges, Wang Yadong pledges that his ministry will continue to implement economic stimulus policies to create more job opportunities.

He says the Chinese government will make every effort to keep the urban unemployment rate below 4.6 per cent for the whole year.

Xiao Hong, CRI news.