A job seeker (left) talks with a recruitment officer on Saturday at a job fair in Hefei, Anhui province. China has created a more friendly environment for entrepreneurs and stepped up efforts to secure the rights of the flexibly employed. [Provided to China Daily]
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that the urban survey unemployment rate for the 16-to-24 age group reached 20.4 percent in April, a historical high in recent years.
High youth unemployment rates are a common challenge worldwide. In recent years, the urban unemployment rate for Chinese youth aged 16 to 24 has consistently remained high, affected by structural factors.
On the one hand, the number of college graduates has increased year by year, reaching 11.58 million this year, making the task of promoting employment even more challenging.
On the other hand, structural employment contradictions among the youth population are becoming more prominent, with a mismatch between supply and demand. Industrial transformation and upgrading are also posing greater challenges for the employment of youths with lower educational levels.
China has placed greater emphasis on promoting youth employment, especially the employment of college graduates, with policies continuously strengthened at various levels from the central to local governments.
Ample attention should be paid to the enterprises that have faced difficulties in production and operations due to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a decline in their capacity to absorb employment.
Great efforts should be made to develop market-oriented employment channels, focusing on the service industry, private economy, and small and micro-sized enterprises with large employment capacities.
Youth employment is not only related to individual growth and development, it is also crucial for the future development of the country. Policies should be combined with incentives and services, and overall promotion should be accompanied by targeted assistance.
However, the fundamental solution to increasing employment lies in economic development.
By expanding effective demand and boosting market confidence, employment growth and economic development can mutually promote each other. With the continuous recovery of the economy, especially the sustained improvement in the service industry, the effectiveness of employment stabilization policies will become more evident, and the employment situation for young people will gradually improve.
