National Business Daily:

Given the August employment data, how would you assess the performance of China's job market at present? What policy measures or suggestions do you have to further promote high-quality employment? Thank you.

Liu Aihua:

Since the beginning of the year, all regions and departments have intensified efforts to implement the employment-first strategy, strengthening the policy of giving priority to employment, and improving the mechanism to ensure employment. As a result, the overall job market has remained stable. From January to August, the average of surveyed urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5.2%, 0.1 percentage point lower than that last year. The surveyed urban jobless rate was 5.3% in August, rising by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, primarily due to the impact of graduation season.

The surveyed unemployment rate for migrant workers decreased. In August, this rate was 4.9%, down 0.2 percentage point from the previous month. The surveyed unemployment rate for rural migrant workers was 4.6%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from July. This decline is primarily attributed to increased summer travel activities, which have boosted employment in related industries.

The urban surveyed unemployment rate in major cities saw a slight increase. In August, this rate in 31 major cities was 5.4%, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The slight uptick in both the national urban surveyed unemployment rate and that of the 31 major cities is primarily due to the influx of recent college graduates entering the labor market during graduation season.

It's also important to recognize that, with a large labor force and ongoing economic restructuring, China faces both pressures on overall job creation and significant structural employment challenges. More efforts are needed to stabilize employment. In the next stage, we must continue to follow the plans outlined at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, developing sound mechanisms for promoting high-quality, full employment and refining the related public services system. We must also improve employment support for key groups, such as college graduates, rural migrant workers and veterans, to maintain the current stable employment situation. Thank you.