Government pledges to boost employment in China

People attend a job fair in Hengshui, North China's Hebei province, Feb 13, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has announced plans to promote employment, the country's top policy priority, across the nation.

The information, which was released on Wednesday and approved by the State Council, China's cabinet, underlined the importance of job creation and urged policy makers to create more pro-job policies.

The document stated China faced "intensified structural conflicts" in the current job market, and urged employment to be placed as a top policy priority, while addressing new challenges.

It further stated if new urban jobs dramatically declined or unemployment rates sharply rose, the government should be responsible for stepping up fiscal and monetary policy support to ensure stable employment and economic growth throughout the country.

Liu Jinshan, associate dean of the College of Economics at Jinan University, said fiscal and monetary policies are two common tools the government used to steer the economy. Liu added it could increase aggregate demand, directly or indirectly, and stimulates the economy and employment.

According to the document, support should be extended to micro and emerging businesses, which are the engines of job creation. A more flexible social security system should also be applied to those sectors to protect rights of employees.

The document further urged local authorities to cut red tape, encouraging entrepreneurship and extended subsidies to start-up companies set up by college graduates and overseas returnees.

The Chinese government revealed plans to create more than 11 million jobs in 2017, with the registered urban unemployment rate kept within 4.5 percent.

In 2016, 13.14 million jobs were created throughout the nation, and the registered urban jobless rate stood at 4.02 percent at the end of last year.

Xinhua contributed to this story.