Boost service sector to add jobs

The service industry should play a bigger role in creating jobs, said an article in the Beijing News (excerpts below).

Statistics from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security showed that China added 7.25 million jobs in the first half of the year, an increase of 310,000 year-on-year.

Although economic growth has slowed to 7.6 percent for the first half, the number of newly added jobs still looks promising. The government's work report said China aims to create 9 million new jobs in towns and cities this year while around 80 percent of the target, more than 7 million new posts, have already been achieved in the first half.

However, with the economic slowdown and increasing unemployment of college graduates, China will face great pressures in employment in the following months.

The growth of the job market also has a lot to do with industrial structure. For example, a 3-percent GDP growth in the United States is capable of supporting its job market, because the country's service sector contributes to a larger part of GDP.

The service industry takes up around 60 percent of GDP growth on average around the world, while in China, the industry accounted for only 44 percent by the end of last year.

So in the long run, we need to boost the service sector to create more jobs.