Page 12 - REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT
P. 12

Stable  employment  has  remained  a  key  indicator  of  the  economy  operating
                within the appropriate range. We worked hard to promote employment through

                market-based  and  socially-oriented  avenues  and  stepped  up  efforts  to  support
                enterprises in stabilizing and expanding employment.
                     The ratio  of enterprise  contributions to basic old-age  insurance  was lowered
                from 20 percent to 16 percent and the national social security fund was replenished

                to expand its scale from 1.8 trillion yuan to over 2.5 trillion yuan.
                     We  implemented  policies  on  refunding  unemployment  insurance  funds  to
                keep  employment  stable  and  granting  training  subsidies  for  job  retention  to
                hard-hit businesses. To promote entrepreneurship and innovation nationwide, we

                have held National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Week for eight consecutive
                years, which racked up a cumulative participation of more than 520 million. We
                encouraged job creation through business startups and strengthened protection of
                workers’  rights  and  interests.  New  and  flexible  employment  forms  became  an
                important source of employment and income growth.

                     We  took  solid  measures  to  ensure  employment  for  college  graduates,
                ex-service  personnel,  and  rural  migrant  workers.  We  used  unemployment
                insurance funds and other funds to support skills training programs.  We carried
                out a three-year action plan for expanding enrollment in vocational colleges and

                upgrading  vocational  skills.  This  drive  saw  vocational  colleges  enrolling  an
                additional  4.13  million  students  and  providing  over  83  million  training
                opportunities.  Employment  is  the  cornerstone  of  people’s  wellbeing  and  the
                wellspring of wealth. It is truly remarkable that China, a big country with over 1.4

                billion  people,  has  kept  employment  stable,  and  such  stability  is  a  source  of
                tremendous creativity for our country.
                     Prices were kept generally stable.
                     We  refrained  from  repeatedly  increasing  the  deficit  by  a  large  margin  in

                response to shocks and printing an excessive amount of money. This created the
                macro  conditions  needed  for  stabilizing  prices.  We  redoubled  efforts  to  bolster
                agricultural production, ensured better linkage between production and sales and
                managed  reserves  more  effectively,  and  ensured  a  stable  supply  of  agricultural
                products, such as grain, hogs, and vegetables.

                     We  promptly  addressed  shortages  of  coal  and  electricity  to  meet  residential
                and production energy needs. Smooth transportation and logistics were ensured.
                Market oversight was strengthened to maintain price stability.


                                                            11
   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17