China.org.cn | July 17, 2020
Hong Kong Economic Herald:
My question is about employment. The word "employment" was mentioned in the Report on the Work of the Government in 2019 for 30 times, while it was mentioned in this year's government work report for 39 times, with an increase of 30 percent in its frequency. It's clear that the employment pressure is severe in the process of economic downturn. What's your opinion on the employment situation in the next half of this year? Thank you.
Liu Aihua:
Thank you for your question. Employment is indeed the focal point of this year, as it was mentioned many times in the government work report. Stabilizing employment and ensuring people's livelihoods are the focus of this year and also the priority of the tasks of ensuring security in the six areas and stability on the six fronts. Focused on stabilizing employment, governments at all levels have taken active measures. Right now, the trend of economic recovery is obvious and the change of the fundamentals will help stabilize and boost employment.
On the basis of a quick survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, the resumption of work and positions maintain a good momentum; enterprises in many industries are adding new job opportunities. Of course, some industries now do not have a strong need for fresh recruitment. However, as the strengthened employment-first policy continues to work, and with the gradual recovery of the fundamentals and enhanced developmental capacities of enterprises, we are confident we can maintain the overall stability of employment in the next half-year. Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Ms. Liu is very familiar with statistics and the situation. With a sheet of paper in hand, she has answered so many questions over the past hour. That's the end of today's press conference. Thank you, friends from the media. See you next time.
Translated and edited by Zhu Bochen, Li Huiru, Wang Yiming, Wang Qian, Yang Xi, Fan Junmei, Zhang Liying, Zhang Rui, Guo Yiming, Wang Wei, Li Xiao, Wang Yanfang, Duan Yaying, Xiang Bin, Zhang Junmian, Yuan Fang, Cui Can, Huang Shan, Mi Xingang, Jay Berbeck, David Ball, Laura Zheng, Geoffrey Murray.
In case of any dispute over a discrepancy, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.