Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you for your introduction, Ms. Wang. Next, the floor is open to questions. Please identify the media outlet you represent before raising questions.

Cnr.cn:

The report to the 20th CPC National Congress emphasized that we should implement the employment-first strategy, intensify efforts to implement the employment-first policy, and improve related mechanisms to promote high-quality and full employment. What measures will the ministry take to ensure implementation? Thank you.

Wang Xiaoping:

Thank you for your question. I'd like to answer it. Employment plays a basic and fundamental role in improving people's well-being and also serves as an essential condition and an important goal of economic and social development. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to employment, always prioritized employment in pursuing economic and social development, and made various major decisions and arrangements to provide fundamental guarantees for stable employment. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress clearly proposed that we should implement the employment-first strategy and intensify efforts to implement the employment-first policy, which is the "double firsts" concept. It emphasized that employment is the most basic component of the people's well-being, scientifically set the important goal of high-quality and full employment, and put forward a series of important measures. The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized the major decision and deployments for stabilizing growth, employment and prices, deepening our recognition of the mission and responsibility for ensuring employment, and also defining the right direction and providing the fundamental guiding principle for the work to guarantee employment on the new journey. 

I think improving mechanisms and fulfilling responsibilities are key to ensuring full implementation. We will resolutely implement the decisions and deployments made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, take stabilizing employment as a major political responsibility and the most prioritized work, and further promote the coordination and cooperation among all localities and governmental departments. The key to ensuring full implementation also lies in understanding new requirements and providing the solid effect of the employment-first concept. We should constantly expand employment capacity and improve its quality, ensuring that people are satisfied with their jobs and professions to maintain the overall stability of employment. Specifically, we will adhere to the following five aspects:

First, we will adhere to a target-oriented approach, focusing on the strategic role of employment. We will concentrate on the new target of promoting high-quality and full employment. We will also improve the evaluation system and supporting measures, ensuring more adequate employment opportunities, a more reasonable employment structure, a more equal employment environment, increasingly strengthened employment capability, and a steadily improved security level. We will aim to achieve a sound cycle of both economic growth and higher-quality and expanded employment.

Second, we will adopt a systematic method and uphold the employment-first policy. The macro regulation mechanism aiming to prioritize employment will be improved faster. We will make stepped-up efforts to establish a mechanism to evaluate the impacts that major investments, major policies, and the distribution of major productive forces may have on employment. Moreover, we will intensify our support to industries and enterprises that can provide more jobs. 

Third, we will consider worst-case scenarios and provide more employment support for key groups. We will establish a management mechanism that records the employment status of certain groups, including young people, especially university graduates; migrant workers, especially those who were lifted out of poverty; and unemployed individuals, especially those who face difficulties. By doing so, we will offer help to people in need according to the record, and refine our systems for ensuring people's basic living needs and for providing employment assistance. 

Fourth, we will adopt a problem-oriented approach and eliminate institutional barriers that hinder the flow of labor resources. We will improve the public service system for employment and make greater efforts to improve the market-, standard-, and system-based human resources development. We will refine the information monitoring mechanism to ensure that the labor in urban and rural areas can flow orderly and efficiently. We will also improve the policy system to ensure equal employment opportunities and eliminate unjustified restrictions that undermine equal employment. In this way, we will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to pursue a career through hard work.

Fifth, we are committed to improving relevant systems to create a predictable environment that stabilizes employment. We will improve the system for creating jobs by encouraging business startups and ensuring more people are willing to start and able to start their own businesses. We will improve the system of lifelong vocational training, launching special training programs in key areas to tackle structural unemployment. We will improve the systems for safeguarding workers' rights and interests to protect workers' legitimate rights. Thank you.