Employment market's two-headed challenge

Although the unemployment situation has been partly relieved thanks to the slow but sure recovery of the economy, the mismatch between supply and demand still exists. On the one hand, it is difficult for job hunters to find jobs. On the other hand, it is not easy for employers to find candidates that meet the requirements of their vacant posts.

Data show that the population in China aged 16 to 59 is close to 900 million, and the proportion of urban employment is increasing year by year. Since 2022, the number of college graduates has exceeded 10 million each year. The talent dividend formed by such a large-scale supply of high-quality talents not only shows the huge advantages of sustained and healthy economic development, but also means that employment pressure will exist for a long time.

In recent years, traditional labor-intensive industries have automated their operations, which has created new skill requirements for employees. The rise of emerging industries such as high-end manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and big data has increased the demand for talents in these areas, and the professional abilities of some workers have not kept up with job changes.

The flexible employment spawned by the digital economy has also changed young people's views on and expectations of work, widening the gap between the job requirements of some employers and the personal expectations of some job candidates. So how to make the job requirements more customized and make job hunters' expectations more realistic is the key to bridging the gap.

Higher education institutions and vocational schools should adapt their courses and training programs in a timely manner to the fast changing landscape of the job market. Besides, they should strengthen cooperation with enterprises and other potential employers to create opportunities and platforms for both students and teachers to know the practical requirements of and the trend of the job market.

The human resources service industry should be encouraged to provide efficient employment services to enterprises and job hunters. That some local governments regularly publish lists of vacancies and catalogs of in-demand occupations is a useful exploration to complement public employment services with market-oriented human resources services.

The implementation of pro-employment policies must be closely combined with the development of new productivity, the expansion of domestic demand, and the release of market potential.

- ECONOMIC DAILY