CHINA has been working hard to stabilize the job market, prioritizing employment for young people, many of whom are struggling as a result of rising unemployment created by economic uncertainty and the increase in the number of college graduates. Together with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently released a policy designed to encourage employers to hire fresh college graduates and the registered unemployed youth through the promise of a special allowance. Under the policy, employers willing to sign contracts with either unemployed college students who have graduated within the past two years or young, registered jobless workers aged between 16 and 24, will receive a one-time 1,500 yuan (US$207) allowance for each young person they hire until the end of December. As of May, the number of young people aged between 16 and 24 in China had exceeded 96 million, and over 33 million of them have entered the labor market, according to Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics. Among these young jobseekers, over 26 million have found jobs while some 6 million are still looking for work. “With the economy continuing to improve, there will be solid support for the employment situation to remain generally stable,” the spokesperson said. China International Intellectech Group Co. Ltd. initiated a campaign to facilitate employment for fresh graduates this July. Thanks to this campaign, more than 1,300 companies in diverse sectors including computer software, finance and electronics have offered over 11,000 job openings. The centrally-administered State-owned enterprise on human resource services forged cooperation with nearly 100 universities to hold exclusive campus recruitment activities in the first half of the year. The company also organized 162 online job fairs, attracting around 41,000 enterprises to advertise 175,000 positions. Other human resource services companies have been focusing on supporting rural labor forces and disabled people, helping them find jobs and learn new skills. China Strait Talent Market has set up 46 offices in Yunnan, Guizhou, Ningxia and other regions with relatively large rural labor forces, and has trained more than 5,000 people. China has been bolstering its support for flexible employment by implementing a range of channels and measures aimed at safeguarding the rights and interests of individuals engaged in such work arrangements. Flexible employment, which includes individual businesses, part-time jobs and new types of employment, is becoming increasingly important in broadening new employment channels. (Xinhua, China Daily) | 