Explainer: How China will construct employment-friendly development model

Job seekers inquire about job opportunities at a job fair for college graduates in Jinhua city, east China's Zhejiang province, July 21, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

China is calling for building an "employment-friendly development model," a phrase that appeared for the first time in recommendations for formulating the country's five-year blueprint, as the world's second-largest economy continues its efforts to maintain steady job growth.

Employment is the most basic component of people's well-being, anchoring household income and underpinning broader efforts to boost domestic demand. China has kept job stability high on its agenda, working to maintain a generally stable labor market that serves its 1.4 billion people.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee's recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) unveiled last month, underscore the need to push forward with an employment-first strategy, improve related support mechanisms -- and make China's development model more employment-friendly.

By the end of September, the country had created 60.32 million new urban jobs since 2021 -- surpassing its target of 55 million. Meanwhile, the average urban unemployment rate over the past four years had stood at 5.3% at the end of September -- below the government's target.

Despite these gains, challenges remain. Persistent pressure on overall job supply, rapid demographic shifts and a shifting global landscape, among other factors, are expected to introduce new uncertainties into the labor market.

People's expectations are also evolving. Beyond simply having a job, many are looking for positions that are stable, well-paid and capable of supporting a decent life. These new shifts are adding urgency to China's push for an employment-friendly development model that can improve both the quantity and quality of jobs.

First highlighted by Chinese policymakers in May 2024, an employment-friendly development model refers to a development model that creates stronger employment momentum -- while improving job quality and expanding opportunities across the labor market.

With employment always central to development, this new approach emphasizes growth that supports workers -- avoiding economic expansion that displaces or neglects them. It also does not use job creation as a pretext for sustaining overcapacity or launching environmentally harmful projects -- thus ensuring high-quality development.

To build this employment-friendly development model, experts called for fostering greater synergy between industry and employment, highlighting the need to leverage upgrading of industrial structures to create high-quality jobs.

In line with this approach, China recently launched a nationwide program in 39 pilot cities to foster closer integration between the human resources services sector and key manufacturing industries -- such as smart manufacturing, electronic information, new materials, new energy and biotechnology.

The country will also expand large-scale vocational and skills training to improve job quality and strengthen the workforce's ability to adapt to technological change. China, notably, will subsidize vocational training for more than 10 million people annually over the next three years, having started this process in 2025, with priority sectors including healthcare, childcare, advanced manufacturing, modern services and emerging occupations.

Wang Xiaoping, minister of human resources and social security, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that support for entrepreneurship will be stepped up -- alongside stronger employment impact assessments and enhanced monitoring systems. She said policy reserves will be refined to better respond to both external changes and emerging technologies in the labor market.