Released by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and National Bureau of Statistics

Under the correct leadership of CPC Central Committee and State Council, in accordance with the scientific concept of development and building a harmonious socialist society, by implementing proactive employment policies, as well as improving the social security system, maintaining the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and strengthening the legal system and labor protection infrastructure, the labor and social security undertakings achieved remarkable results in 2006.

I. Labor and Employment

National employment at the year-end stood at 764.00 million persons, a year-on-year rise of 5.75 million persons. Of which, the employment in primary industry reached 325.61 million persons, accounted for 42.6 percent of national employment; that of secondary industry stood at 192.25 million persons, occupied 25.2 percent; that of tertiary industry arrived at 246.14 million persons, occupied 32.2 percent. The employment at the year-end in urban areas valued at 283.10 million persons, increased 9.79 million persons, year-on-year. Of which, the employment at the year-end in various units accounting for 117.13 million persons, rose by 3.09 million persons. The staff and workers at the year-end in urban units standing at 111.61 million persons, growing 3.10 million persons, year-on-year.

The new employment in urban areas was 11.84 million persons, 5.05 million laid-off and unemployed workers had found new jobs, of which, 1.47 million so-called "4050" persons which have difficulty in employment are  re-employed. The urban registered unemployed persons totaled 8.47 million, and registered urban unemployment rate was 4.1 percent. The reform of incorporating the basic life support for laid-off workers in the state-owned enterprises into the unemployment insurance has basically completed.

The total number of employment agencies at the year-end nation-wide was37, 450, expanding 1703 units. Of which, public employment agencies amounted to 24,777 units. The successful annual cases by public employment agencies were 18.45 million persons, an increase of 20 percent.

The total of technical schools at the year-end standing at 2,880 units, the number of students totaled at 3.21 million persons, grew by 460 thousand persons, year-on-year. The technical schools socially oriented training accounted for 3.38 million persons, a year-on-year increase of 23.6 percent. The total number of vocational/technical training institutions accounted for 3,212 units, the training institutions run by private reached 21,462 units, totaled oriented training hit 1,905 million persons, rising 17.2 percent, year-on-year. A total of 6.45 million unemployed persons and laid-off workers attended reemployed training; 630 thousand persons attended entrepreneurship training.

The total number of national vocational skills accreditation agencies topped 7,957 units, the vocational skills certification of appraisers amounted to 160 thousand persons. A total of 11.82 million persons took part in the vocational skills accreditation, jumping 18.0 percent, year-on-year. Total of 9.25 million persons obtained varying levels vocational qualification certificates, with an increase of 11 percent as compared with previous year. Of which, the number of 296 thousand persons obtained technician, senior technician vocational qualifications.

The total number of 454 overseas employment agencies in China, through those agencies in Hong Kong, Macao and foreign countries were still a total of 105 thousand persons in employment, of which, 56 thousand persons went abroad in 2006.

At the end of 2006, a total of 180 thousand foreigners with employment permits working in China; for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau employment working permits in the Mainland of China accounted for 72 thousand persons.

II. Social Insurance

I) Pension Insurance

Number of people participated in basic pension insurance at the year-end reached 187.66 million, a year-on-year growing 12.79 million persons. Of which, number of employees accounted at 141.31 million; that of number of retirees hit 46.35 million, respectively went up 10.11 and 2.68 million persons, year-on-year. The number of migrant workers participated in basic pension insurance at the year-end valued at 14.17 million persons. Number of enterprises participated in basic pension insurance at the year-end amounted to 168.57 million persons, surging 11.41 million persons.

Full basic pension are fully paid on time to the enterprise retirees. The enterprise retirees accounted to the community management reached 28.33 million persons, accounting for the total number of 68.8 percent, increased by 0.5 percentage points, year-on-year.

Total volume of basic pension insurance in urban areas topped 631.0 billion yuan, increasing 23.9 percent; of which, income tax collection reached 521.5 billion yuan, jumping 20.9 percent. All levels of financial subsidies for basic pension insurance fund were 97.1 billion yuan, and the central budget was 77.4 billion yuan. General fund expenditures stood at 489.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year expanding of 21.2 percent. The accumulated basic pension insurance fund balance at the year-end accounted for 548.9 billion yuan.

Totaled 240 thousand enterprises established enterprise annuities at the year-end, which covered 9.64 million employees. The accumulated balance of enterprises annuities standing at 91.0 billion yuan.

The number of people participated in rural basic pension insurance at the year-end valued at 53.74 million persons, topped 3.55 million peasants received the pensions, grew 530 thousand persons as compared with a year ago, amounted to 3.0 billion yuan for the pension insurance expenses. The accumulated basic pension insurance fund balance in rural area totaled 35.4 billion yuan.

II) Unemployment Insurance

Population covered in the unemployment insurance at the year-end hit 111.87 million persons, increasing 5.39 million persons. A total of 3.27 million persons received the unemployment insurance, a year-on-year decline of 350 thousand persons.

The unemployment insurance fund income reached 38.5 billion yuan, up by 15.8 percent; the annual expenses hit 19.3 billion yuan, dropped 6.9 percent, year-on-year. The accumulated balance at the year-end valued at 70.8 billion yuan.

III) Medical Insurance

Population covered in basic medical insurance accounted at 157.32 million persons, expanded 19.49 million persons. Of which, employees stood at 115.80 million persons; that of retirees reached 41.52 million persons, respectively went up 15.58 and 3.91 million persons, year-on-year. The number of migrant workers participated in basic medical insurance in rural areas amounted to 23.67 million persons.

The income and expenses of basic medical insurance fund valued at 174.7 and 127.7 billion yuan, rising 24.3 and 18.3 percent respectively. Of which, co-ordinate fund income stood at 104.1 billion yuan, and expenses was 71.7 billion yuan, with a year-on-year rise of 27.0 and 16.7 percent respectively. The accumulative basic medical insurance fund balance at the year-end valued at 175.2 billion yuan. Of which, coordinated fund balance amounted to 107.7 billion yuan; that of accumulative personal accounts valued at 67.5 billion yuan.

IV) Work Injury Insurance

Total number of population participated in work injury insurance arrived at 102.68 million persons, grew by 17.9 million persons, year-on-year. Of which, migrant workers covered in work injury insurance totaled 25.37 million persons. A total of 780 thousand persons earned the benefits, a year-on-year increase of 130 thousand persons.

The accumulative income and expenses of work injury insurance fund accounting for 12.2 and 6.85 billion yuan, expanding by 31.7 and 44.2 percent respectively. The balance of work injury insurance fund standing at 19.3 billion yuan, and reserve fund topped 2.4 billion yuan.

V) Procreation insurance

Total number of population participated in procreation insurance hit 64.59 million persons, a year-on-year expanding of 10.51 million persons. A total of 1.08 million persons gained benefits, with a year-on-year surging of 460 thousand persons.

The accumulative income and expenses of Procreation insurance fund accounting for 6.2 and 3.7 billion yuan, rising 41.9 and 36.8 percent as compared with that in the previous year respectively. The balance of fund amounted to 9.7 billion yuan.

VI) Social Insurance Fund Intendance

A total of 30 Provinces Social Security Intendance Committee established at the provincial level, and gradually strengthening fund surveillance, management of the fund to further regulate. Promotion of enterprise management market of annuity fund approved a total of 37 bodies’ pension fund management business qualifications of 29 organizations.

VII) Improving the urban social security system pilot

There were eleven pilot provinces such as Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shanghai, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Xinjiang gained the accumulative basic pension insurance personal accounts amounted to 4.85 billion yuan.

III. Labor Relations

A total of 76 central enterprises replied annual audit separating the main bodies for restructuring programme, involving 4942 households' supplementary industry enterprises, streaming resettlement employees valued at 785 thousand persons.

The cities above prefecture level have established a tripartite coordination mechanism for labor relations, about 8,030 tripartite coordinating bodies has established at the end of year.

The labor dispute arbitration committees at all levels accepted and heard 447 thousands pieces of labor dispute cases, a year-on-year rise of 9.9 percent. Of which, mediation cases valued 130 thousand; that of labor disputes admissibility cases amounted to 317 thousand, while involving 680 thousand employees. In terms of labor disputes admissibility cases, collective labor dispute cases topped 14 thousand, which involving 350 thousand employees. The case settle rate of labor disputes admissibility cases registered was 91.6 percent.

IV. Wage distribution

The annual average wages of fully employed staff and workers in urban units amounted to 21,001 yuan, a year-on-year jumping of 14.4 percent, after deducting the price factor in a real increasing of 12.7 percent. The annual average wage of fully employed staff and workers in state-owned units reached 22,112 yuan; that of in urban collective-owned units valued at 13,014 yuan; that of in other ownership units totaled 20,755 yuan. The daily average wages of fully employed staff and workers in urban units was 83.66 yuan.

V. Labor security law and supervision

Labor and Social Security promulgated the "Sino-foreign cooperation in vocational skills training school management practices."

The labor security supervision agencies hit 3,201 at the end of 2006; a rate of labor security supervision organs was 94.5 percent. Labor and social security departments at all levels with labor support amounted to 22,000 full-time ombudsmen.

Special inspection activities were implemented nationwide, such as rectifying the order of labor market, labor utilization information, implementing the "Regulation on Prohibition of the Use of Child Labor ", and wage payment for rural workers. The annual initiative inspection of the employing units reached 1.41 million, 1.22 million units employing a written review, consulted masses complaints accounting for 399 thousand pieces, and all kinds of labor and social security law violation cases amounted to 400 thousand pieces. Through labor security supervision of law enforcement to charged employers reissued 12.43 labor contacts, 5.8 billion yuan to labor wages for totally 7.70 million employees, supervised and urge employers repaid 5.6 billion yuan for social insurance premium which totaled 190 thousand employers, supervision and urge 110 thousand employers transacted social insurance registration and declarations, banned illegal occupation intermediaries valued at 9067 households, charged employers reimbursed for risk mortgage payments accounting for 160 million yuan to the employees.

VI. "JinBao Project" and community platform construction

"JinBao Project" construction kept fast pacing with the basic completion of the national system design and planning standards, 32 provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps were achieved with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security Networking, 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities realized with all regulated cities networking, 77 percent cities above county levels achieved provincial data center networking, city-area network coverage up to 67 percent of the managing agency. Totally 32 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities uploaded 140 million persons participated in basic pension insurance monitoring data to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the upload of unemployment insurance and unemployment registration monitoring data was into the implementation phase. There are more than 154 cities above the county levels opened labor security services telephone number "12333".

Note:

1. The communiqué did not include the statistics on Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan Province.

2. The relevant data in this communiqué was the formal annual data and have a few differences with the part of the "Statistical Communiqué on the 2006 National Economic and Social Development".

(Source: National Bureau of Statistics   Date: June 5, 2007)