Balancing social stability with economic growth, Guangdong embarks on a surprise new strategy to increase employment in 2009.
Zhou Qiong, Caijing 18 February 2009
Guangdong governor Huang Huahua presented a report on February 13 to the Guangdong People’s Congress that set raising the employment rate and expanding the labour market by 1.2 million labourers as top priorities for the province in 2009.
The 34-page report laid out an unexpected, new strategy that aims to promote social stability by nurturing employment growth and developing labor-intensive industries. Previously, Guangdong focused on economic development by transferring 73 manufacturers in lagging industries, many of which are labor-intensive, outside of the province.
Although Huang did not specify the labor-intensive industries, the term is generally associated with footwear, garment, furniture and other industries developed in the last few decades. Guangdong slowly developed these industries with the help of easy-to-access goods and services, strong auxiliary industries and skilled labor and technologies that other regions in China could not compete with.
At the same time, according to the report, the province will continue promoting development through the previous strategy, indicating that the Guangdong government is seeking to strike a balance between economic growth and social stability.
“The Guangdong population totaled over 5.5 million, of which 2.5 million came from outside of the province,” deputy director of the Guangdong Development Research Center Li Huiwu said. “It is important to stabilize the labor market in Guangdong since it is one of the largest labor markets in China. The national labor market will stabilize if Guangdong’s is stabilized.”
“Although Guangdong has lost the most in China during the financial crisis, it is still responsible for contributing its part to social stability.” Li continued.
However, Li estimated that Guangdong will produce 80,000 jobs for every point of GDP, which means that, given an estimated GDP of 8.5 percent, Guangdong will only produce about 700,000 new jobs this year.
“Therefore, Guangdong encourages individuals to start businesses; each entrepreneur can provide three to four jobs,” Li said.
According to Liu Youjun, director of the Guangdong Labor and Security Department, unskilled workers have a hard time finding a job in Guangdong. There are nearly 10 million migrant workers in the province this year, among which 2.6 million are unemployed. Of the unemployed workers, 1.2 million are new to Guangdong and 1.4 million are returning migrant workers.
Additionally, a total of 900,000 new graduates are expected to enter the Guangdong labor market this year – 330,000 university graduates from Guangdong, another 500,000 university graduates from outside the province as well as other lower-level graduates. Guangdong plans to extend privileges for laid-off workers to university graduates. But a professor from Sun Yat-sen University told Caijing that the government should provide equal rights to all struggling groups, including laid-off workers, migrant workers, and new graduates. The privileges should also include tax breaks and reducing registered capital requirements for starting new businesses, he said.
Huang’s report said that employment is always a top concern among other major social priorities, including expanding domestic demand, agricultural and rural problems, and industrial structure readjustment.
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Employment Prioritized in Guangdong
Balancing social stability with economic growth, Guangdong embarks on a surprise new strategy to increase employment in 2009.
Zhou Qiong, Caijing
18 February 2009
Guangdong governor Huang Huahua presented a report on February 13 to the Guangdong People’s Congress that set raising the employment rate and expanding the labour market by 1.2 million labourers as top priorities for the province in 2009.
The 34-page report laid out an unexpected, new strategy that aims to promote social stability by nurturing employment growth and developing labor-intensive industries. Previously, Guangdong focused on economic development by transferring 73 manufacturers in lagging industries, many of which are labor-intensive, outside of the province.
Although Huang did not specify the labor-intensive industries, the term is generally associated with footwear, garment, furniture and other industries developed in the last few decades. Guangdong slowly developed these industries with the help of easy-to-access goods and services, strong auxiliary industries and skilled labor and technologies that other regions in China could not compete with.
At the same time, according to the report, the province will continue promoting development through the previous strategy, indicating that the Guangdong government is seeking to strike a balance between economic growth and social stability.
“The Guangdong population totaled over 5.5 million, of which 2.5 million came from outside of the province,” deputy director of the Guangdong Development Research Center Li Huiwu said. “It is important to stabilize the labor market in Guangdong since it is one of the largest labor markets in China. The national labor market will stabilize if Guangdong’s is stabilized.”
“Although Guangdong has lost the most in China during the financial crisis, it is still responsible for contributing its part to social stability.” Li continued.
However, Li estimated that Guangdong will produce 80,000 jobs for every point of GDP, which means that, given an estimated GDP of 8.5 percent, Guangdong will only produce about 700,000 new jobs this year.
“Therefore, Guangdong encourages individuals to start businesses; each entrepreneur can provide three to four jobs,” Li said.
According to Liu Youjun, director of the Guangdong Labor and Security Department, unskilled workers have a hard time finding a job in Guangdong. There are nearly 10 million migrant workers in the province this year, among which 2.6 million are unemployed. Of the unemployed workers, 1.2 million are new to Guangdong and 1.4 million are returning migrant workers.
Additionally, a total of 900,000 new graduates are expected to enter the Guangdong labor market this year – 330,000 university graduates from Guangdong, another 500,000 university graduates from outside the province as well as other lower-level graduates.
Guangdong plans to extend privileges for laid-off workers to university graduates. But a professor from Sun Yat-sen University told Caijing that the government should provide equal rights to all struggling groups, including laid-off workers, migrant workers, and new graduates. The privileges should also include tax breaks and reducing registered capital requirements for starting new businesses, he said.
Huang’s report said that employment is always a top concern among other major social priorities, including expanding domestic demand, agricultural and rural problems, and industrial structure readjustment.
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