China's registered urban unemployment rate stood at 4.2 percent in 2004, down 0.1 percentage points from 2003 but lower than the 0.5 percentage points predicted earlier last year. This is the first drop of unemployment rate in the past ten years. What are the reasons for the slight fall? Does it mean that is an upward turning point? With such questions, People's Daily correspondent interviewed government officials and experts concerned.

According to Li Deshui, director of the National Statistics Bureau (NBS), it is difficult to say that China's unemployment rate will go on decreasing. Controlling the unemployment rate is one of the four targets of China's macro-economic control, Li said. It was good news that the registered unemployment rate dropped in 2004.

According to statistics sampling from NBS, the unemployment rate was also declined last year. The sound growth of China's economy and efforts by governments at various levels have ensured the drop in the unemployment rate last year. The newly added employees in urban areas reached 9.8 million, 800,000 more than expected according to NBS statistics. However, Li said it is still difficult to conclude that China's unemployment rate will continue to drop.

Wang Yadong, deputy director of the training and employment department under China's Ministry of Labor and Social Security, held that the slight fall of the registered urban unemployment rate was the result of, first, the sustained rapid growth of China's economy brought increase to jobs; second, governments and departments at all levels conscientiously carried out the policies concerning employment and unemployment; and third, a number of new job opportunities were created through flexible employment ways. Initial estimation shows that those engaging in flexible jobs, a contingent no less than 100 million people, account for 40 percent of the total employment people in urban areas.

Zhou Tianyong, vice-director of the Office of Economic Research under the Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that currently the number of China's urban unemployment people is calculated by using the number of unemployment people registered at the government departments concerned to divide the total sum of the year's number of employed people and the number of registered unemployment people. However, there are people who lost their jobs but have not or are not willing to register, such as laid-off workers worrying their contracts with the original work places are terminated and unemployed college graduates.

Zhou said the governments should not lower their guard even if the registered unemployment rate declined last year for China will still be under heavy employment pressure for some time.

Statistics show China's registered unemployment rate has been on the slight increase in recent years, from 2.9 percent in 1995 to 4.3 percent in 2003.

By People's Daily Online