China has recently reported better-than-expected economic growth for the first quarter of this year. Despite its impressive growth numbers, the country's job market still performed below expectations. According to the most recent data from industry reports, China's job market had dipped to its lowest level in over six years.
The first quarter of the year typically sees a spike in the number of job seekers in China, with some workers looking for new jobs and as fresh graduates start their careers. According to the China Institute for Employment Research (CIER) in Beijing, the ratio of job seekers and open positions this year is totally unbalanced as demand for staff from various companies across the country has declined.
The ratio of job openings and job seekers has fallen to 1.68 in the first quarter, its lowest level since 2014. CIER bases its numbers on research it has conducted from the popular job recruitment sites such as Zhaopin as well as from other sources. In its report, it was revealed that the number of workers looking for an open position has grown by 31 percent when compared to the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, demand for employees has fallen by 7.6 percent overall. Open position within the different firms in China has also reportedly fallen by 11 percent in the first quarter.
The employment research firm has concluded that the weak demand for employment may have been caused by economic pressures directly related to the country's growth recovery. In its resolution report, the research institution urged that the government introduce more stimulus measures and increase its cut on taxes and social fees to help stabilize the country's job market.
China has recently released official unemployment data, which seems to corroborate CIER's findings. Official data reveals a drop of 0.1 points in the country's survey-based urban unemployment rate in March to 5.2 percent from 5.3 percent in February. Meanwhile, in provincial capitals, unemployment rates have risen to 5.1 percent. This is the highest unemployment rate recorded since the end of 2016.
The government has so far announced that it was going to be enacting different measures to combat the country's growing unemployment rate. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, employment in China is its top priority this year.
With the measures it has enacted so far, the agency has apparently generated more than 3.24 million new jobs. Unfortunately, those figures are unevenly spread as different regions across the country still have unbalanced ratios. According to CIER, northern cities are the most affected with an estimated five job seekers for every one open position.
