CHINA / National
Jobless urbanites to hit 10m by 2010
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-10 06:40
About 10 million urban residents will have difficulty finding jobs by
2010 due to pressure from the growing labour force, according to a new
report.
In a 2006-10 development outline published late Wednesday, the Ministry
of Labour and Social Security said China, as the world's most populous
country, will continue to be troubled by unemployment in future years.
China's labour supply is expected to top 830 million by 2010. In urban
areas, an additional 50 million city residents will join the labour force
by 2010, but only 40 million jobs will be created during this period.
The ministry will try to keep the country's registered urban unemployment
rate below 5 per cent between 2006 and 2010 by creating job opportunities
for an additional 45 million people, the report said.
The jobless rate was 4.2 per cent at the end of 2005.
Millions of other jobs will also have to be created to accommodate an
additional 45 million rural migrant workers who have been encouraged to
leave rural areas to reduce the labour surplus in the countryside, the
outline said.
The current number of migrant workers is estimated at 150 million, or
11.5 per cent of the population, nearly double that of 10 years ago.
The ministry announced late last month that 9.32 million urban Chinese
had found jobs in the first nine months of the year, exceeding the target
of 9 million for the entire year.
Most of the employment pressure comes from laid-off workers from State or
collectively-owned businesses, an increasing number of university
graduates, rural labour transfer and farmers who lost their land due to
industrial development or urbanization.
According to the outline, the government will continue to encourage and
support the private sector and boost the development of labour-intensive
industries, service industries and small and medium-sized businesses.
Prejudice against farmer-workers will gradually be eliminated. The
government will try to remove obstacles restricting rural migrant workers
from working in urban regions or moving to different regions.
To help farmers better adapt to the competitive market environment, the
outline raised an objective to provide over 90 per cent of newly-added
farmers with vocational training by 2010.
A universal labour contract system will help solve labour disputes.
Currently, over 90 per cent of labour disputes are settled.
The government will also strive to expand social security coverage over
the next four years. In urban regions, 223 million people will be covered
by pension schemes, 300 million will be able to buy medical insurance and
120 million will be provided with unemployment insurance.
These figures represent an increase in people covered by pensions plans
of 45 million from 2005.
The number of farmers entitled to the pension plan will also gradually
increase, the outline said without providing figures. Meanwhile, efforts
will be made to ensure the social security of migrant workers and farmers
who lose their land as a result of urbanization.
China's elderly population has now surpassed 143 million, the report says.
The development outline also highlighted the need to improve labour and
social security-related laws and regulations to increase employment and
promote protection of workers' rights and interests.
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