This Day, That Year
ItemfromMarch8,1995, inChinaDaily:LaborMinisterLiBoyong(right)vowed toholdthecountry’surban unemploymentratebelow3 percentbylaunchingaseries ofprogramstoaddressthe surpluslaborinthecities.
Theminister’spledge comesatatimewhenChina expectstoseeasharp increaseinthenumberof jobseekersasitkicksoffa majorreformtoinvigorate Stateenterprises....
In1994,urbanunemploymentwas2.9percent.
Despite a slowdown, the world’s second-largest economy has managed to keep stable employment in recent years.
At the end of last year, China’s registered urban unemployment rate stood at 4.02 percent, the lowest in years, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
Last year, the country provided new jobs to 13.14 million urban residents.
The mass entrepreneurship and innovation pro- gram initiated by Premier Li Keqiang at the 2014 Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin was viewed as a new driving force for China’s economic growth.
Since then, the tide of startups has been sweeping the country.
Last year, more than 15,000 startups were regis- tered every day, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
By 2020, the central government has vowed to create more than 50 million jobs in cities under a plan released by the State Council, China’s Cabinet, last month.