Providing strong support for employment of college graduates and stabilizing growth scale | China | Graduates

Stable growth and promoting employment.

A solid economic foundation is the foundation for maintaining a stable employment situation for college graduates. What is the current trend of China's economic development? Can it provide strong support for the employment of college graduates? The "Strong Observation" section of People's Daily Online conducted an interview.

Expanding Economic Cake and Expanding Employment Capacity

Creating more high-quality employment opportunities for college graduates requires the vigorous development of the industry. Public data shows that in May, the added value of China's equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8.0% year-on-year, 4.5 percentage points faster than that of large-scale industries. In terms of investment, from January to May, investment in high-tech industries increased by 12.8% year-on-year, significantly higher than other investments.

"China is making efforts to promote economic stabilization and recovery, and will gradually alleviate the employment difficulties of college graduates." Zhang Chenggang, director of the China New Employment Forms Research Center at Capital University of Economics and Trade, said that the current industrial growth points are mainly concentrated in advanced manufacturing, high-tech industries, and other fields. These growth points have a strong demand for fresh graduates in science and engineering related majors, containing many employment opportunities.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data are constantly emerging, bringing infinite possibilities for industrial upgrading and expansion. So, what benefits does technological progress bring to the employment of college graduates?

"Technological progress has a creative effect on employment opportunities," said Li Chang'an, a professor at the National Institute of Opening up at the University of International Business and Economics and a member of the employment expert pool of the State Council Employment Work Leading Group Office. Emerging industries such as modern manufacturing are becoming one of the main venues for attracting employment opportunities for college graduates. Advanced technology can also empower traditional industries, revitalizing them and adding new impetus to employment.

"There are three areas in the future that will have a significant driving force for the employment of college graduates." Liu Zhexi, Associate Professor of the School of International Economics and Trade at the University of International Business and Economics, believes that the first is the development of high-end, intelligent, and green manufacturing industries; The second is in the field of productive service industry; The third is the new formats and fields of digital economy, artificial intelligence, and new energy.

It is worth noting that new formats, models, and industries continue to stimulate the potential and momentum of China's economic development, and also bring a large number of employment opportunities for college graduates.

For example, the Digital China Development Report released by the State Internet Information Office in May this year shows that in 2022, China's digital economy will reach 50.2 trillion yuan, ranking second in the world in total, with a nominal year-on-year growth of 10.3% and a proportion of 41.5% of GDP. The emerging digital occupations created by the huge market emerged at the historic moment. Among the 158 new occupations added by the Occupational Classification Code of the People's Republic of China Occupational Classification Dictionary issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 97 are digital occupations.

Only by expanding the cake of economic development can we expand the cake of employment. At present, China's national economy continues to recover and transformation and upgrading continue to advance.

"From the perspective of the whole year, there is a lot of favorable support for the economy to achieve its expected development goals." Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics and Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics of the National Economy, stated at a recent press conference that this is mainly reflected in multiple aspects such as the gradual increase in consumer driving force, the accumulation and enhancement of innovation momentum, and the continued manifestation of the dividends of reform and opening up.

Helping Enterprises Live Well, Promoting Employment, and Stabilizing Employment

The vast business entities in our country are the main force in absorbing employment. The fourth national economic census shows that the employment of small and medium-sized enterprises in China accounts for 79.4% of the total employment of enterprises. According to the "Analysis of the Employment Market for College Graduates in the First Quarter of 2023" released by Renmin University of China, private enterprises and listed companies have a relatively high employment prospects. It is recommended to stimulate the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises and private enterprises to create jobs and absorb employment.

"To create more high-quality jobs for college graduates, we should focus on supporting and helping the majority of business entities." Zhang Chenggang believes that previously, due to the superposition of factors such as the COVID-19, the production of some small and medium-sized enterprises was disrupted, resulting in a decline in the demand of the labor market. Through a series of support policies such as tax and fee cuts in China, we can stimulate the vitality of enterprise development, improve the willingness and motivation of enterprises to recruit and train college graduates.

According to data released by the State Administration of Taxation in May, from January to April this year, a total of 468.9 billion yuan in new tax reductions and deferred tax refunds were added nationwide, including over 339.3 billion yuan in new tax reductions and deferred tax refunds for private economy taxpayers, including private enterprises and individual businesses, accounting for over 70% of the total, benefiting the most.

The China Private Enterprise Social Responsibility Report released by the All China Federation of Industry and Commerce this year shows that private enterprises provide the most direct and powerful support for consolidating existing employment and absorbing new employment. In 2021, there were a total of 10.038 million employees in the surveyed enterprises, with a 4.3% increase in employment compared to the previous year. Among them, 72.8% of the enterprises maintained stable or increasing employment, demonstrating outstanding ability to absorb employment.

Since the beginning of this year, more business entities have emerged like mushrooms after rain. On June 9th, the latest data released by the State Administration of Taxation showed that in the first five months of this year, a total of 6.435 million new tax related business entities were established nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%. With the continuous expansion of the scale of business entities, the demand for talents is soaring, providing sufficient motivation for the employment of college graduates.

The cooperation between private enterprises and universities in various regions is in full swing. For example, in May, the "Hundred Cities, Ten Thousand Enterprises" private enterprise and university joint employment promotion conference and private enterprise recruitment fair were held in Chongqing. 563 private enterprises provided 13568 positions and recruited college graduates through online and offline methods.

In addition, young people such as college graduates are the most dynamic group among various entrepreneurial entities, and independent entrepreneurship is not only related to employment, but also an important source of new business entities. Various regions provide strong support for college graduates to start their own businesses: Guangdong Province holds the "Maker Cup" Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition, which can provide up to 500000 yuan in rewards for college graduates to start their own businesses; The maximum loan amount for eligible small and micro enterprises founded by college graduates in Heilongjiang Province can be increased to 3 million yuan.

Resolving structural contradictions and unleashing talent dividends

To fundamentally alleviate the employment difficulties of college graduates, both supply and demand should work together, closely cooperating like gears, to better match and interact with higher education and the labor market, and to fully absorb the talent dividends brought by college graduates in the market.

According to data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the number of new growing labor force who need to work in urban areas will reach 16.62 million in 2023, and this year, the number of college graduates will reach a record high of 11.58 million. It can be foreseen that fresh graduates will be the "main force" among the newly growing workforce.

In May, the national urban survey unemployment rate was 5.2%, with a labor force survey unemployment rate of 20.8% for 16-24 years old, which is at a high level. Most recent graduates are in the age group of 16-24 years old. Objectively speaking, a higher unemployment rate indicates that there is still room for improvement in the utilization rate of labor resources in China. In the long run, what other tasks does China need to do well in order to maximize the employment of graduates and unleash talent dividends?

Fu Linghui stated at a recent press conference that the current pressure on the total employment volume and structural issues cannot be ignored. The employment pressure on young people is still significant, and there is a shortage of high skilled talents. The coexistence of "job seeking difficulties" and "recruitment difficulties" still needs to be strengthened to promote a balance between the total supply and demand of employment and a reasonable structure.

"The weak employability and mismatch between the majors studied and market demand are important reasons for the difficulty of employment for college graduates." Li Chang'an said that China should actively adopt models such as school enterprise cooperation, order based training, and targeted training to seamlessly connect college talent cultivation with employers, reduce the search costs for college graduates and employers, and improve the efficiency of job seeking and employment.

In addition, Li Chang'an stated that in order to eliminate structural and frictional unemployment caused by information asymmetry, China needs to establish a sound labor market service system to make information between the supply and demand sides more smooth.

On June 6th, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security launched the 2023 100 day and 10 million recruitment special action, using 100 days to provide over 10 million job opportunities for college graduates and other groups, and to assist college graduates and various types of workers in finding employment.

"Channels and platforms like the 100 day and 10 million recruitment special campaign can reduce blind overseas investment caused by excessive information in the labor market, improve the efficiency and accuracy of recruitment and job seeking, and reduce the search and matching costs for both supply and demand sides," said Li Chang'an.

Series link:

One of the "Graduation Season Talk on Employment" Series Reports: Policy Protection Helps College Graduates "Get Good Jobs"