Mo Rong, vice chairman of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security's Labor Science Institute, said that 70 percent of young people are registered job seekers. This adds fuel to the flames of unemployment at a time when China is still coping with the problem of laid-off workers.

"This never happened before 2000. The labor market is under unprecedented pressure," said Mo. But, he reported, the State Council has promulgated some policies to help solve the problem, especially for college graduates.

Mo said the unemployment issue is a complex one. China is a country with a large population and abundant labor resources, but the average quality of those resources is low. As a developing country, China has difficulty providing jobs for all its workers, and while reform and restructuring may create new jobs they also create layoffs in some industries. Moreover, as the country continues to transform from a primarily agricultural society to an industrial one, increasing numbers of migrant workers will move to the cities to seek work.

Yu Faming, director of the Employment and Job Training Department under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, explained why there is an apparent discrepancy between official unemployment statistics and people's perceptions.

He used 2003 as an example. Some 8 million people had registered as unemployed at the end of the year, bringing the registered urban unemployment rate to 4.3 percent. Many people felt the rate must be higher.

However, the 4.3 percent figure refers to that of unemployed urban residents who officially register their unemployment, and excludes laid-off workers from state and collective enterprises. These people are still connected to their enterprises, which guarantee their basic living standard.

In addition, the huge number of laborers flowing into the cities from rural areas is excluded.

Yu stated that if laid-off workers from state and collective enterprises were included in the calculation, the registered unemployment rate might reach 7 percent.

(China.org.cn April 26, 2004)