2024-03-11 14:27:05
A serious demand for specialists in the fields of artificial intelligence and big data is registered in China’s labor market, it became clear from a press conference of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security held this Saturday, Radio China reported. At it, the ministry committed to provide more support for private and small businesses and to encourage youth employment in order to stabilize the labor market this year.
Experts are generally optimistic about Beijing’s goal of adding 12 million new urban jobs by the end of the year. They are calling for more graduates to take advantage of the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence and other emerging sectors, and for greater efforts to support smaller businesses.
At the press conference, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Xiaoping said that China’s labor market is off to a strong start to the year, with industries related to artificial intelligence and big data showing high demand and rapid growth, especially in healthcare, pottery, catering, culture and tourism. Labor market trends reflect China’s economic improvement, with the development of new quality manufacturing forces bringing new opportunities, the minister pointed out.
According to the Government Work Report presented by Premier Li Qiang during the current NPC session, China aims to add more than 12 million new jobs in urban areas in 2024. Compared to last year’s target of creating “about” 12 million , the word “over” in this shows the confidence of the authorities to ensure stable employment, analysts believe.
China created 12.44 million urban jobs in 2023, and the average unemployment rate there was 5.2 percent, according to official data.
“The correction signals that the government is confident in creating more high-quality jobs by deepening reforms and opening up, improving the business environment and nurturing and expanding new growth engines,” said Prof. Liu Chunsheng of the Central University of Finance and Economics. “Sectors related to the artificial digital economy are creating many high-end jobs in areas such as machine learning, data science, algorithmic engineering and smart hardware development. They are also driving the digital transformation of traditional industries, which is driving the demand for new jobs,” he points out.
According to Prof. Liu, the sectors of electric vehicle manufacturing, semiconductors, 5G communication equipment and applications, health care, digital entertainment and social media, smart manufacturing and green environmental protection technologies are expected to be among the new growth points.
According to the Department of Human Resources and Social Security, 11.79 million people will graduate from colleges and universities and enter the workforce this year.
“We will strengthen policies and measures to promote youth employment, expand the channels for it, stabilize the volume of public positions, and optimize comprehensive services to guide employment and entrepreneurship,” Minister Wang Xiaoping said at the press conference.
“With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, more and more companies are focusing on their application, providing new job opportunities,” said Prof. Kun Yi of the Tianjin Institute of Administration. “Universities and local authorities attach great importance to building effective employment channels. Even at the high school level, there is a strengthening of educational content around digital development, such as courses in the digital economy and data analysis, helping students to adapt to the needs of the labor market,” he adds.
Among different job positions, artificial intelligence engineers earned the highest average salary of 24,127 yuan ($4,533) per month, followed by chip engineers at 22,835 yuan per month, according to data from Zhaopin.com. In addition, smaller companies, which are a large source of jobs, are experiencing a growing demand for employees. Vacancies at firms with fewer than 100 employees rose 7.1% year over year in the third week after the Spring Break.
To further expand job opportunities, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced that it will provide support to the private sector and small companies that hire more employees. The authorities will also focus on further strengthening the digital economy, the green economy and sectors related to the elderly population, all of which are seen as significant new growth drivers.
However, continued support for small and medium-sized businesses remains a priority in efforts to achieve the 2024 employment target, and it is crucial to encourage technology-oriented enterprises to expand and create more jobs, to continue to optimize and modernize the industrial structure , as well as the digital transformation of traditional industries, experts believe.