China is stepping up efforts to expand employment while addressing structural employment problems, as part of a broader push to boost employment, an official said.

China has set targets of keeping the surveyed urban unemployment rate at around 5.5 percent in 2025, and creating over 12 million new urban jobs, according to a government work report unveiled Wednesday.

Despite steady economic recovery, China’s job market remains under pressure, particularly with 12 million college graduates this year, Huang Lianghao, an official with the Research Office of the State Council, said on the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

To expand employment opportunities, Huang highlighted key measures outlined in the government work report, including fully leveraging employment-related policies, supporting labor-intensive industries in creating jobs and stabilizing employment, and striking a balance between the application of new technologies and job relocation for employees.

Beyond job availability, more should be done to address structural employment mismatches, he said.

„Many individuals struggle to find suitable positions, while businesses grapple with hiring the right talent,” Huang noted, emphasizing the need to solve the problem.

He highlighted large-scale vocational skills training, saying that this will not only enhance the job-seekers’ competence but also generate new jobs, boost labor productivity, and drive industrial upgrading.

XINHUA