China has launched its annual employment campaign for university graduates in large and medium-sized cities as authorities ramp up efforts to achieve a more ambitious job creation goal this year, according to China's Xinhua News Agency on Sunday.
According to Xinhua, the recruitment campaign, sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, will run from today until May 26. China aims to provide 12 million job opportunities in cities this year, up from the target of at least 11 million in 2022. The government seeks to keep the surveyed unemployment rate at around 5.5 percent this year.
New Prime Minister Li Qiang stated last week, "Economic development is the fundamental solution to job creation," and the government will continue to follow the "employment first" strategy. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the surveyed unemployment rate in China reached 5.6 percent in February but was 18.1 percent for the age group between 16 and 24 years.
The bureau noted that the rise in the unemployment rate in February was attributed to seasonal factors.
