Editorial | Beijing must restore confidence of private sector to boost jobs
- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for action amid fears that unemployment, particularly among the young, will damage the pace and quality of economic growth
China’s surveyed unemployment rate has remained steady at around 5 per cent. But it does not reflect emerging structural problems in the labour market that may impact the pace and quality of economic growth, not to mention a 14.7 per cent unemployment rate among 16-to-24-year-olds.
President Xi Jinping raised some of these issues at a study session of the full Politburo this week.
He ordered cadres to prioritise job creation and employment, in remarks aimed at shoring up market confidence and maintaining stability ahead of July’s third plenum, which traditionally sets economic strategy for years ahead.
Specifically, Xi addressed widespread complaints about illegal lay-offs by some companies, and pointed to a mismatch between job supply and demand in some sectors, especially among young people. “We must develop new business entities and new business models … cultivate new professions and develop new sources of job growth,” he said, according to state media.
This followed a pre-plenum meeting last week with state and private business leaders and investors at which Xi called for deepened reform in remarks that struck a pro-business and pro-growth tone.