Nation's job market grows in 1st quarter

Senior officials and industry experts have expressed confidence in China's job market growth, as the central government has prepared for uncertainties and will continue releasing supportive policies in finance, skills training and entrepreneurship to maintain the stability of domestic employment.

The domestic job market delivered some eye-catching results in the first quarter of this year, with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announcing on Monday that about 3.08 million new jobs were created in urban areas in the first quarter, an increase of around 50,000 jobs compared with the same period last year.

The surveyed unemployment rate in the first quarter stayed at around 5.3 percent, a slight rise of 0.1 percentage point year-on-year but still within the target range of 5.5 percent set for this year in the 2025 Government Work Report.

Yu Jiadong, vice-minister of human resources and social security, said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that the central government has fully analyzed the domestic employment landscape and is prepared to tackle challenges and uncertainties.

"We've noted international challenges and hefty tariffs imposed by the United States, which have made some Chinese foreign trade companies face business difficulties and, thus, see a hit to employees. But we will spare no effort to make sure the domestic job market grows steadily," he said.

Yu also said the government will continue to develop new growth points for employment and encourage employers, especially small and medium-sized companies and those involved in key industries like modern services and manufacturing, to create more job opportunities with financial incentives.

"It's important to fully implement the current policies (such as low-interest loans and hiring subsidies). The loan limit to small and medium-sized companies has been raised to 50 million yuan ($6.85 million) at most, and for individuals 10 million yuan at most," he said. The loans are specifically to be used to stabilize job positions or for job creation.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance have recently granted a subsidy totaling 66.7 billion yuan for employment promotion, Yu said, adding that stronger financial support and subsidies will be given to companies and individuals, especially those bearing greater losses or influence related to high US tariffs.

He said at the conference that the central government will continue to prioritize the employment of key groups such as college graduates and migrant workers, while preferential policies on loans, taxes and skills training will be available to people who face difficulties in landing jobs because of disability or family financial conditions.

He stressed the importance of skills training and said that companies hit by the hefty US tariffs are encouraged to keep their employees by organizing on-the-job skills training programs or training employees for new positions.

"We have a sufficient policy tool kit, which can support the companies in keeping their staff members or hiring new people, and can also improve people's working skills or ability to run their own businesses. We have confidence in stabilizing the domestic job market," Yu said.

Li Qiang, vice-president of recruitment portal Zhaopin, said he is confident about China's economy and employment resilience and potential, citing the economic performance in the first quarter and growing domestic hiring demand.

"The GDP in the first quarter marked 5.4 percent year-on-year growth, and we've noticed that hiring demand from employers in modern services, manufacturing and real estate have all registered growth during this period of time, showing China's optimized economic structure," Li said.

"With the progress of the establishment of China's modern industrial system, the job market will continue to play a key role in turning the economic development results into benefits for people's livelihood," he added.