According Premier Wen's government work report, central government will create some nine million employment opportunities for urban residents this year, one million less than that in 2008.

"Central government made such a decision with regard to economic slowdown," said Qian Keming, CPPCC member and Director-General of Department of Market and Economic Information, Ministry of Agriculture. So far demand for employment is dropping in China and labor supply far exceeds labor demand. The deterioration of the global financial downturn brings a negative impact upon domestic economic operation and imposes unprecedented pressure upon the job market.

"We are grateful that central government has launched forceful measures to ensure employment and solve the crisis," Qian added.

Employment is vital to economic growth

"Why do we need to seek economic growth? Because that concerns people's livelihood and employment is vital to economic development," Zheng Xiangdong, NPC deputy and Secretary of CPC Wuxi County Committee said.

"The fundamental goal of ensuring rapid and steady economic development is to properly solve employment issue. It is also a long-term plan to stimulate consumer markets," noted Cao Jie, NPC deputy and president of Gujing Group. "If the general public does not have money in their pocket, they will not be optimistic about the future and consequently it will be hard to expand domestic demand." As far as Cao is concerned, stable employment and confidence in consumption are supplementary to each other. The market that wins public confidence will absolutely boost economic development and help enterprises weather the recession.

"We are not willing to see economic development without growth of employment. It is necessary to make industrial and economic policies based on the employment situation with regard to current economic development. Although recessive employment affects city appearance, we can't deny that it is an effective way to ease employment pressure. We need to focus more on supervision and strike a balance between maintaining good city appearance and easing employment pressure," Zheng added.

Enterprises should play a role in economic growth

According to Qian, job seekers this year include 6.1 million college graduates not including urban layoffs. The number will be 7.1 million if the one million who haven't found jobs last year are taken into consideration.

China has initiated a series of forceful measures to ensure employment. The government-funded infrastructure construction for an agricultural hydraulic project created vacancies for migrant workers who returned from urban areas after failing to find jobs. "Employment in neighborhood" so far has created handsome economic and social profit.

"Enterprises should play an active role in enhancing economic growth, which will further boost employment," said Cao. Government should reduce enterprises' burden, help them weather the financial crisis and encourage them not to shed jobs during the economic recession. As the downturn sweeps over the world it will need efforts from many sides to maintain stable employment and growth.

Training for migrant workers is crucial for their re-employment

Large numbers of migrant workers returning to rural areas will produce a negative impact on farmers' incomes, and moreover, cause social instability.

Qian held that government should create job opportunities on an extensive scale, encourage college students to become self-employed and improve the public service level.

Zheng maintained that China should stress more on vocational education and cultivate more workers with advanced skills. He also hoped that central government would grant subsidies to training institutes and farmers. Government at various levels should create a "green channel" for the migrant workers to become employed.

(People's Daily Online March 13, 2009)