Employment situation stabilizes in year's 1st half

China's surveyed average urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent in the first half of the year, down 0.2 percentage point year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The average unemployment rate in the first quarter stood at 5.2 percent, down 0.3 percentage point compared with the same period last year, while the rate in the second quarter decreased 0.2 percentage point year-on-year to 5 percent, said Wang Pingping, director of the bureau's population and employment census department.

In the first half of this year, the surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5 percent, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point from the same period last year, and the rate stabilized at 4.9 percent in the second quarter.

"The unemployment rate in big cities is lower than the overall rate nationwide, which indicates a stable and improving trend in employment for major cities," Wang said.

Employment in the service sector, particularly in sectors such as accommodations, catering and sports, showed significant growth in the second quarter, which contributed to the increase in nonagricultural and urban employment nationwide, she added.

"Employment support for key groups such as migrant workers and university graduates has been strengthened, while targeted assistance for vulnerable groups has been effective, ensuring a stable employment situation," Wang said.

The jobless rate of migrant workers in the second quarter stood at 4.6 percent, seeing a drop after the Spring Festival holiday, the data showed.

Despite pressure, China's employment situation was generally stable in the first six months of the year, supported by a recovery in the labor-intensive service sector, pro-employment policies, and the creation of new types of jobs driven by new industries and new business models, Wang said.

"More efforts should be made to actively cultivate new employment growth points and promote higher-quality and more adequate employment," she said.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security launched a one-week online recruitment campaign, involving the new energy, healthcare, fast-moving consumer goods and courier sectors.

More than 5,000 employers participated in the campaign, including leading companies such as BYD and SF Express, offering a total of 68,000 job vacancies.

The Ministry of Education said that targeted measures have been taken to improve employment opportunities for university graduates, with 12 online recruitment activities being held this month on the national employment service platform for college students.

Data from recruitment portal Zhaopin shows that part-time positions on the platform increased 30 percent year-on-year in the first six months, while new flexible work in fields such as shared transportation services increased 10 percent.

The portal said it is increasing efforts to support flexible employment by offering vocational skills training for flexible workers.