Shanghai legislators still fear the economic shine may be overshadowed by a grim employment and social security future in China's commercial center though the municipality reported a record economic growth in 2003.

Shanghai's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2003 hit over 620 billion yuan (US$75 billion), up 11.8 percent year-on-year, the highest growth rate since 1998, according to a government work report released Monday by Mayor Han Zheng.

Employment and social security were, however, two major concerns for the 12th People's Congress in Shanghai, the city's legislature, which ended here Thursday.

"Shanghai still faces a uphill battle to create more jobs and expand its social security network to more needy people," said Wu Shenyao, vice president of Shanghai Municipal Federation of Trade Unions.

Analysts say Shanghai is now facing major problems in creating enough new jobs to keep up with the growth of the workforce as its population has surpassed 20 million, with a floating population of more than three million.

Shanghai provided about 460,000 new jobs in 2003 but most them were offset by 300,000 job cuts due to restructuring and reorganization of state-run enterprises, according to the municipal government's statistics.

The municipal legislature in Shanghai has worked out a new economic growth blueprint to achieve a rise of over 10 percent in GDP and create 500,000 new jobs in 2004 after it had seen a two-digit economic growth rate for 12 straight years.

Trade unions in Shanghai have urged the government to prevent enterprises from reducing employment by economic reorganization or relocation.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2004)