19th March 2023 – (Beijing) China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will host an annual recruitment of college graduates in large and midsize cities from Sunday, 19th to 26th March, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The recruitment drive is part of China’s efforts to achieve a more ambitious job creation target of 12 million urban jobs this year, up from last year’s target of at least 11 million. The government aims to keep the survey-based jobless rate around 5.5% this year. The recruitment drive will include 19 offline job fairs, eight cross-region job fairs, and job fairs for various sectors, such as manufacturing, medicine and health, Internet and electricity, and new energy. Despite a record high number of college graduates in China this year, job seekers expect more job opportunities, better pay, and reliable social security, according to human resources minister Wang Xiaoping.
The survey-based jobless rate in February was 5.6%, with a youth jobless rate of 18.1% for 16 to 24 year-olds, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The bureau said the increase in the jobless rate in February was due to seasonal factors. The new premier, Li Qiang, recently emphasized the importance of developing the economy as a fundamental solution for creating jobs, and the government will continue to prioritize an “employment-first” strategy.