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The surveyed unemployment rate of young people aged 16-24 hit a new high this year. Can you give a detailed introduction to the current employment situation of young people? What is your prediction of the employment situation in the next stage? Will it be possible to achieve the annual target of adding more than 11 million jobs?
Fu Linghui:
Thank you for your questions. Employment is a matter of concern because it is the foundation of people's livelihoods. Since the beginning of this year, factors such as the complex and severe international environment and the impact of the domestic epidemic have had a certain impact on employment. In general, with the joint efforts of all parties, the economy has been recovering and various employment stabilization policies have been implemented, reversing the rising trend of surveyed urban unemployment. Due to various factors, the surveyed urban unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April. But as the epidemic prevention and control situation improves, the rate has dropped for two consecutive months since May. In May, the rate was 5.9%, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, and it further fell to 5.5% in June. Looking at the situation in the second quarter, the employment situation mainly has the following characteristics:
First, the employment of the main working population is generally stable. Although the unemployment rate of the main working population aged 25-59 increased in April, the increase was significantly lower than the overall unemployment rate. In June, the unemployment rate among those aged 25-59 was 4.5%, a decrease of a 0.6 percentage point from the previous month and close to the average level in 2021.
Second, the employment situation of rural migrant workers has improved. Migrant workers are mostly engaged in labor-intensive manufacturing and service industries, are mostly self-employed, and have flexible employment, so their employment stability is relatively poor. Affected by the impact of the epidemic, the unemployment rate of the migrant population with rural household registration rose to 6.6% in April. As the epidemic is gradually brought under control and measures to help enterprises stabilize jobs begin to deliver, the employment of migrant workers has improved significantly. The unemployment rate of the migrant population with rural household registration dropped to 6.2% in May and 5.3% in June, lower than the overall unemployment rate.
Third, the employment pressure on young people is still relatively high. When young people enter the labor market for the first time, they face a frictional unemployment dilemma. At the same time, affected by the epidemic, the ability of enterprises to absorb employment has declined, and young people's job-seeking channels have also been hindered amid the epidemic. In addition, the total number of college graduates this year has reached a record high, intensifying the employment pressure on young people. In June, the youth unemployment rate for the16-24 age group in urban areas was 19.3%, the highest level for this year.
In general, with the economy's recovery and effective employment stabilization policies, China's employment situation showed an overall improvement trend in the second quarter. However, the problem of youth employment pressure is still prominent. We must continue stabilizing employment, especially the employment of key groups. We must further implement the employment stabilization policies and offer employment assistance to promote the continuous improvement of the employment situation. Thank you.
