On October 18th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce the operation of the national economy in the first three quarters of 2024. At the meeting, Sheng Laiyun, Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Statistics, responded to a reporter's question about employment issues by stating that since the beginning of this year, relevant departments have introduced many policies to stabilize employment, especially to solve the employment problems of college students. Recently, a document was specifically issued to promote high-quality development of employment, and various regions are also accelerating its implementation.

Although there is pressure on the total employment volume, the overall employment situation is stable. The surveyed urban unemployment rate in the first three quarters was 5.1%, 5.2% in the first quarter, 5.0% in the second quarter, and 5.2% in the third quarter, which is relatively stable overall. The third quarter was slightly higher than the second quarter, mainly due to the seasonal impact of the college graduation season in July and August, but overall it is stable, "said Sheng Laiyun.

Meanwhile, Sheng Laiyun pointed out that the structural contradictions in employment are quite prominent. On the one hand, there is relatively high employment pressure on young people and the unemployment rate is still high. On the other hand, there is a problem of difficulty in recruiting workers in the manufacturing industry, especially for some frontline skilled workers who are still in short supply.

So, structural contradictions are a very important characteristic of the labor market. In the future, to promote full employment and high-quality development of employment, we must not only give full play to our advantages, continue to promote stable economic development, and create more job opportunities, but also attach importance to structural problems, gradually solve them in development, and ultimately achieve full employment and promote high-quality development of employment

This year, the scale of college graduates has reached a new historical high. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council attach great importance to the employment of college graduates. Various regions and departments have integrated and optimized employment subsidies and job expansion subsidies, continued to implement policies and measures such as state-owned enterprises recruiting college graduates to increase manpower and capital, strengthened supply and demand docking, and key assistance, and made every effort to promote the employment and entrepreneurship of college graduates. The employment situation of college graduates is basically stable. In July and August, college graduates left school to seek employment, and the youth unemployment rate increased seasonally. In September, with the gradual implementation of the work for the 2024 graduates, the unemployment rate of labor force aged 16-24 and 25-29, excluding students, has significantly decreased compared to the previous month. In the next stage, as more graduates implement and enter the workforce, the employment situation of college graduates is expected to further improve Wang Pingping, Director of the Population and Employment Statistics Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, said.