China's job market better than expected in Jan-Feb: minister
People attend a job fair in Chongqing on February 27, 2023.
China's job market was better than expected in January and February, and the country's employment will continue to pick up this year, Wang Xiaoping, the human resources minister, said on Thursday.
The world's second-biggest economy is warming up after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions late last year, with both manufacturing and services activities expanding sharply since the beginning of 2023. Companies are slowly adding jobs again.
"With an improvement in economic operation, employment will continue to pick up and remain overall stable," Wang said during a news conference in Beijing.
However, more work needs to be done as people are expecting more job opportunities, she noted.
"In 2023, the number of college graduates will reach 11.58 million, and the structural conflict between the difficulty of recruitment and finding jobs remains outstanding," Wang said, adding the government will step up support to help college graduates, migrant workers and unemployed people.
China needs to add 16.62 million people to the urban workforce this year, the highest number in recent years, vice human resources minister, Yu Jiadong, said at the same briefing.
