(Yicai Global) March 2 -- China’s employment situation will improve and stay relatively stable this year despite some challenges as the country’s economy is picking up, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Security said at a press conference today.

The Chinese economy is resilient with much vitality and has great potential for creating sound conditions for the long-term stability of the job market, Wang Xiaoping said. Innovation-based entrepreneurial activities will serve as a driving force for hiring and new recruitment growth points will emerge. Policies will provide powerful support to stabilize and boost employment, she added.

However, there remain challenges as 11.5 million college graduates will enter the job market this year, she said. There is also a big structural contradiction in recruitment and job hunting. It is difficult for ordinary people to find work and specialized technical workers are in short supply. People want more job opportunities, better pay and more reliable social security benefits.

China’s population growth is slowing down sharply, yet China remains a developing country with the largest population and labor force in the world, said Yu Jiadong, Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security.

China’s population shrank for the first time in nearly 61 years in 2022 as births continue to fall, leading to a further aging of society and greater challenges for the country’s pension system. The population fell by 850,000 last year to 1.4 billion, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics in January.

The working-age population has shrunk as many older people have retired while the number of young people entering the workforce stays the same, Yu said.

Some 16.6 million new workers will enter the job market in urban areas this year, a record in recent years, putting more pressure on employment. China will continue to optimize employment and create more jobs to ease the situation, Yu said.

The country’s endowment insurance scheme has been reformed in recent years to cover more people, Wang said. Pension funds are getting more income and have no difficulties in paying pensions.

“I can say for sure that our country’s pension funds are running stably,” Wang said.

Editor: Kim Taylor